Kirk Marsh is a unique photographer, and his images tell a story as good as, if not better than, almost any photographer out there. Kirk is an internationally exhibited fine art photographer and digital artist specializing in portraiture and self portraiture. He shoots for advertising and editorial clients too. Yup, a great working photographer, but that only describes a part of him. There is another side to Kirk that I think is a key part of his art, he is a clown. I don’t mean to say he has a sense of humor, although he surely does. Kirk is an actual clown, and that background seems to come through every shot he creates.

Halfway through college he found an old program book for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus his grandparents had taken him to when he was 12.  Inside that book was a short bit about their Clown College.  Being 20, lost, and not knowing what to do with his life, he decided to apply.  Fortunately he got into their program and started a 20+ year career in performance and clowning.  Since then he has toured the world with his work and has performed his silent comedy show in 53 countries. Think about that. He toured with the Greatest Show on Earth.

Kirk’s most recent work is focused on community, mental health and loneliness.  Subjects contemplating situations alone in solitude is the theme currently most intriguing to him.  Some of his work is his take on the current state of humanity in general. With a style influenced heavily by magical realism and the fictions of our own minds, Kirk Marsh creates images with impact, images with a story, images with emotion.

The 365 Self Portrait Project he completed in 2014 is a great collection of work that focused mainly on storytelling and lighting.  His love of light and story continues in his work today.

Join creative photographer Kirk Marsh & me on this episode of Behind the Shot as we discuss his image Choosing Emotions, which won him the Photoshop World Best of Show Guru Award of 2018.

Portfolio: kirkmarshphotography.com