John e marriott biography

John E. Marriott is one of Canada’s premier professional wildlife and nature photographers, with images published worldwide by National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, Canadian Geographic, McLean's, and Reader’s Digest.

I would show you the photos, but I don't think I look all that adorable as a small bald person in the arms of my Grandma on the shores of Lake Louise.

Six years later, I began photographing in the Canadian Rockies, snapping shot after shot of what I was sure were award-winning images on my family's annual pilgrimages from Salmon Arm, British Columbia in the family wagon to Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper.

But then I switched my mindset. His work is both nationally and internationally recognized, with awards in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, stamps from Canada Post, and even coins from the Royal Canadian Mint bearing his name. Through EXPOSED’s ‘Trapped in the Past Campaign,’ he’s advocating for updates to trapping regulations that have resulted in countless fur-bearing animals suffering and losing their lives.

Walking into the clinic for the first time, he recalls, “I was greeted by Ashley and Fiona, the two regular nurses, with so much care and love.” Their support, along with the other nurses, home care staff, and even the massage therapist, made an overwhelming experience feel manageable. "I hiked, I hit the gym, I did everything I could to prepare myself for what was coming," he says.

Now, months after finishing chemotherapy, John reflects on his journey with immense gratitude.

An image he took of burrowing owls was used on a Canadian stamp, and one he took of swift foxes is on a Royal Canadian Mint coin. Initially working odd jobs to make ends meet—mini-golf at the Banff Springs Hotel, teaching computer classes at Get Smart—John was already nurturing a passion for wildlife photography. "It was a game-changer."

In December 2022, John began his first round of chemotherapy, a process that would extend through June 2023.

I started slowly (very slowly, as you'll read in my latest book, Tall Tales, Long Lenses), but now consider myself lucky enough to be successful at what I do.

I sell stock photography and my images have been published in a number of magazines including National Geographic Adventure, Backpacker, Canadian Geographic, Reader's Digest, Outdoor Photography Canada, Photolife, Ranger Rick and OWL. My photography has also been used for a wide range of commercial applications, including highway billboards, transit buses, brochures, websites, product packaging, and catalogs.

I also regularly wrote articles for Outdoor Photography Canada magazine and in 2010 was named a contributing editor for the magazine as their wildlife photography columnist.

However, the vast majority of my work has been done in Canada, where I've carved out my niche as a photographer specializing in Canadian wildlife and nature photography. I opened a bank account and got a trade name for my photography. “I was literally making photo books back in 1975.”
 

Fast-forward to 2024, and Marriott is now an award-winning professional wildlife photographer with eight published books to his name.

Unfortunately I never did get to meet the photographer I most wanted to -- Japanese wildlife photographer Michio Hoshino, who died in Kamchatka, Russia in 1997.

My business started twenty years ago and is now firmly entrenched in Canmore, Alberta on the edge of Banff National Park. It was an unusual symptom that kept recurring, and by May of that year, it started happening more frequently.