for Camera Long Island City-based photographer Dennis Martinez captures the dogs of Long Island City on his Instagram account. LIC photographer captures four-legged friends of Gantry Park on camera BY ANGELA MATUA // Photos BY Denis Martinez A Long Island City-based photographer is capturing neighborhood dogs on camera and is looking to eventually create a photo book to showcase their personalities. Dennis Martinez, who grew up in Ridgewood and became interested in photography after taking a class at Grover Cleveland High School, began documenting dogs on his Instagram account two years ago. He adopted Gambit, a Great Dane and boxer mix, around that time and decided to photograph other dogs he came across on his daily trips to Gantry Plaza State Park. Though Martinez became interested in photography at an early age, he did not pursue it as a career until recently. Martinez joined the military one year after high school and served for three years. After his service, he worked as a mixed martial arts fighter for 10 years. Adopting Gambit reinvigorated his passion for the art form and he now works as a photographer full-time, though he is still involved in martial arts as an instructor at Chok Sabai Muay Thai gym in midtown Manhattan. “When I got Gambit, I kinda just picked up my camera again,” Martinez said. “I’ve always been a big animal person, and me and dogs just get along really well, so I just started taking pictures of everyone’s dogs.” Martinez sells the digital prints of the pups on his website for $3 and also sells portraits of dogs and their owners. His Instagram account, @HoundsAway, is filled with dogs of all sizes and breeds enjoying Gantry Park or posing for photographs in a studio. Martinez and his wife, who he met at Murray Dog Run in Long Island City while they were both walking their dogs, just adopted a third dog, Tank Girl, on Tuesday. As a dog owner, Martinez said he recognizes that each dog has a distinct personality and he wants to create a photo book to highlight the quirks of each dog he meets.
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