Maz Crotty is an associate real estate broker who loves taking photos. An avid cyclist, she spends many hours a week on two wheels for pleasure and four wheels for work around Shelter Island and the East End, where she is always on the lookout for that perfect shot.
“For the most part, I see a scene while I am out that I think may have potential and I stop and figure out the shot,” Maz said in a recent interview with the Gazette.
Originally from the UK, Maz first visited Shelter Island in 2002. She works full-time at the Sotheby’s International Realty office in Southampton.
“It wasn’t long before I realized I loved the place and spent all my weekends here. I have now lived here full time for 11 years where I am constantly in awe of the incredible light and natural beauty around us throughout the seasons,” Maz said
Her first sale
Maz began taking photos for work and pleasure back in 2012. With encouragement from her friends that she could sell her images, she set up a website and joined a craft sale before the 2019 holiday season.
“I sold my first photo last year at a sale at St.Mary’s Church Holiday Fair and was elated at the reception from both friends and strangers buying my prints,” Maz said.
Her dream camera is the one she has in her hand at the time she sees something to photograph so that she doesn’t miss an opportunity.
“I would love to be more accomplished in many types of photography, maybe animals. But I gravitate towards landscapes as I am constantly looking for simple beauty in the rather complex world we inhabit and nature offers those opportunities on a daily basis here, ” she said.
“I have enormous admiration for many natural world photographers — they spend many years planning trips and photograph in extreme conditions (heat, cold, underwater) to get a specific shot and the results are always worth it,” she said. She is particularly inspired by the work of Paul Nicklen, a photojournalist for National Geographic, who works to promote marine conservation through a collective SeaLegacy, a nonprofit that he founded.
Now and the future
Down the road, Maz would like to do some larger format work and she now has the camera she needs to do that. But it will likely take a few years to get a body of work together. Meantime, she’s constantly taking online classes to learn and recently joined the Shelter Island Library photography club.
You may recognize photos in the Gazette with Maz’s name on them as we have received permission to use some of her images to represent areas on Shelter island.
To view and or purchase images from Maz you can visit her website, Mazcrotty.darkroom.tech, and follow her on Instagram @mazzacrotty.
