Q&A With Oliver M. ’26, Award-Winning Student Photographer

Poly is thrilled to share that Oliver M. ’26 has received numerous awards for his photography. You might recognize Oliver’s work photographing Poly Athletics events and his fine art photography on his Instagram account @omarksphoto. K-12 Visual Arts Department Chair Arnor Bieltvedt said, “Oliver is one of the most talented AP Art students I have ever worked with at Poly. He is fully dedicated to the medium of photography and growing as a visual artist. He is a supportive and thoughtful member of the whole AP Art team.” Oliver has been honored with the cover photo of ISO Magazine, a student-run literary and photography publication based out of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts; the YoungArts award, one of the highest honors a young artist can earn; and the Sony World Photography Award, a world-renowned global photography competition where Oliver has the opportunity to be named "Youth Photographer of the Year.” Read on for a Q&A with Oliver, and check out some of his work in the accompanying gallery.

It’s been an exciting time hearing back from all of these competitions. I love photography, and I’m happy that people seem to be enjoying looking at my pictures. Throughout high school, I’ve dedicated myself to finding and polishing a relatable and compelling style and seeing my work pay off has been really rewarding. 

Poly’s role in my photography journey has been invaluable. Before I even picked up a camera, I started getting into journalism because of a class I took in eighth grade that was taught by Ms. Gray. By the time I was in ninth grade, I had my heart set on writing for The Paw Print sports section. This writing made me interested in photography because I saw how powerful of a tool it was in telling the story of athletes. Starting in the summer before my sophomore year, I was eager to shoot sports photography. Poly’s accepting athletic program made it easy for me to find opportunities to take pictures. In 10th grade, I took my first photography class with the wonderful Ms. Minto, and she taught me not only the technical side of photography but also how to think more critically about my work and make it into my own side business. This year, I am taking AP 2-D Art and Design, and under the guidance of Mr. Bieltvedt, I’ve started thinking about my work from a more traditional artistic perspective. He’s been very supportive in helping me find my voice and helping me understand the art of photography in a more general sense and how it relates to other mediums throughout history. Even outside of class, he’s pushed me to work on other projects that I’m very excited about. My classmates and friends have also been super supportive in my journey. They’ve been encouraging from the start and are always great subjects for my pictures! I’d also like to specifically shout out my friends Jackson B. ’25 and William O. ’26 for their shared passion for photography and the inspiration we’ve all been able to provide for each other. 

I feel like I still have a lot to learn, but I’m confident that my passion will keep guiding me. I’ve been trying to find more ways to bring photography to the Poly community. For example, I started a photography club and also have organized multiple high school photo contests. I hope in the future I can continue to share my passion with the community in fun ways like these contests and in more enriching ways, too. As the year goes on, I’d like to find more ways to apply my photography to Poly’s many incredible student-run community engagement initiatives. I’m a firm believer in the empowering qualities of photographs, and I would love to bring this to other parts of the local community.