Michael Martin BMW GS Photography / Wallpaper
Twenty-five years ago, Michael Martin began a Transafrica trip from Kenya to Cape Town. His ride of choice? A BMW R 100 GS, the same motorcycle that famed author/photographer Helge Pedersen used for traveling to finish his book that came to define Adventure Touring – “10 Years of 2 Wheels”.
Since Martin’s first trip, the 53-year-old has became a renowned desert photographer – all while piloting GS machinery.
“To me the motorcycle seemed to be the ideal means of transport for going on my long-haul adventure travels to the most remote parts of our planet. Compared to a car, it is very light and agile and narrow enough to travel even on narrow paths. It was thanks to the great enthusiasm of two BMW employees for Africa that my touring companions and I were able to set off on our dream motorcycle, the BMW R 100 GS,” Martin says. “We were overjoyed. And then we even managed to convince Lufthansa to fly our machines to Nairobi free of charge. From there we started out on our first big project.”
Martin quickly fell in love with Africa touring, and returned in 1995 and 1998, when he traveled the Nile and surrounding deserts aboard the R 1100 GS.
“It was during this time I decided to concentrate above all on the topic of deserts. In 2000 I then began the project ‘Deserts of the Earth’. This time I was riding an R 1150 GS, which had once again improved on its predecessor’s qualities,” Martin says.
When Martin began planning his traveling and photography for his project “Desert Project,” which is presented as a photo book, TV series and exhibition, he choose the R 1200 GS Adventure. These explorations took Martin not only across dry deserts, but also the ice lands of the Arctic and Antarctica.
Stephan Schaller, President BMW Motorrad, says: “Michael Martin and the BMW GS have been a dream couple for 25 years, a combination which could not be any more successful. Michael Martin’s work is unique worldwide and the demands he places on his expedition vehicle impressively show you well suited a BMW GS is for precisely this purpose. We are very happy that the partnership between Michael Martin and BMW Motorrad has been so successful for the last 25 years and look forward to continuing it.”
Following is a photo gallery that highlights Martin’s photography skills, and the motorcycle that took him to these places – the GS.
Michael Martin Photo Gallery
What awesome images and the stories they tell!