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ABOUT MARINUS HAAKMAN
Marinus Haakman was born 08 May 1976 in Stellenbosch, South Africa. As an ‘army brat’ he grew up in Uitenhage, Grootfontein and Rundu, Namibia – before matriculating from Hoërskool Oos-Moot, in Pretoria. Marinus’s interest in photography began at an early age and he started taking photos in high school where he bought his first camera. After graduating high school, he studied tourism following which he spent 8 months living in England, where he further developed his love for photography, culture and travel.
He went back to college to study fashion and continued to take photos throughout. In 2013 Marinus bought his first Cannon camera and this is where he began focusing on the art of photography – experimenting with different styles.
Marinus has taken part in numerous prestigious online exhibitions and has a number of published photographs, including publications such as RooiRose and 50Plus where he had a cover photo of the famous South African actor Louis van Niekerk. While Marinus, who is entirely self-taught, enjoys mainstream photography, including beautiful flower macros and urban exploration shots, his real passion is in illuminating the importance of male body positivity in today’s society through photography. This passion was borne from an incident where Marinus was told by a photographer looking for male models, that he ‘doesn’t photograph fat people’. This struck a chord with Marinus and developed into a keen pursuit of inclusivity for all body types in photography.
When Marinus is not charging around with his camera, he spends his free time with his partner of 24 years and his beloved rescue dog tramp. The three enjoy adventure camping, nature and specifically the African bushveld.
Marinus also volunteers as a photographer for ParkrunSA.
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