On November 2nd, 2024, our head writer conducted an interview with Samantha-Lynn Martinez, a Marine Biologist, Naturalist, Videographer & Graphic Designer from Washington.
Samantha-Lynn Martinez is currently a student at the University of Washington, & is working on her Bachelor’s Degree of Science. She is well known for her various design campaigns such as We Love You Puget Sound, numerous short films, & work with the NOAA & aboard the EV Nautilus. In today’s article, we ask her 26 intriguing questions, & get many incredible answers.
Please note that all answers below have been edited for clarity, paraphrased, & are not necessarily reflections of the beliefs or teachings of our newsletter. With that being said, let us delve into the contents of the interview.
The Contents Of The Interview
Question No. 1: What sparked your interest in marine biology?
I think my interest in marine biology started when I was very young, I grew up in the Philippines, & then moved to Seattle, Washington when I was about three or four, so I’ve always been near & around the ocean. I’ve always been very fascinated by the ocean, & knew it was somewhere I wanted to be. So much recreational joy comes from the water, such as going fishing, going swimming, & all that jazz, & I knew that working with the marine environment or animals is something that I wanted to do someday.
The Philippines is made up of about 7,000 islands, & so much of the economy is built on fishing industries & things that are related to the water. Similarly in Seattle, we have Pike Place Market is huge, & in their fish market, they are throwing the fish across the counters. Overall, the ocean has always been part of my life, & it’s been wonderful to see how that connects my two homes across the Pacific.
Question No. 2: Do you have a specific moment, person, or place that inspired you to pursue marine biology?
Yeah! I think that growing up in Seattle, you find a lot of people working in the field of Marine Biology in many different ways. Honestly, I could pinpoint a lot of different people who have inspired me over the past few years.
There is one show that I grew up watching called The Brain Scoop hosted by Emily Grassle, she’s an incredible science communicator. Seeing her YouTube videos come out has been incredibly influential to how I approach science communication nowadays, & I’ve been joking that it is my dream to become a miniature Emily Grassle or Bill Nye for marine biology.
One of my other biggest sources of inspiration lately is Erin Rainey, a wildlife cinematographer. She works here in Washington & Alaska, & she’s incredible! She was a video engineer on the EV Nautilus before I even found out about the Deep-Sea Exploration aspect of Marine Biology, but that is another can of worms.
Question No. 3: Do you have a favorite marine animal or terrestrial animal?
That is an incredibly difficult question because I tend to become attached to certain species if I have a personal story involving them. If you’d asked me before this Summer I would have said Steller Sea Lions, as I worked with them on my internship in the Aleutian islands last year. That was a fantastic experience, I got to incorporate all of my previous knowledge into things, work on drone surveys & photo identification surveys, & work with the pups! They are so massive, & can weigh as much as a small car.
For a terrestrial animal, that would be very hard to choose because I have so many experiences & stories with terrestrial animals. Last summer, before I went back to school, I got to see many Grizzly Bears in Alaska, so I would say Grizzly Bears are very high on the list.
Question No. 4: You have recently begun doing more work relating to birds, what interests you about birds & what is your favorite species?
I’m very glad you brought that up, I’ve recently been having this sort of internal battle with myself as to whether or not I want to focus purely on Marine Biology or open myself up to other animals that I like, such as birds.
I love birds, growing up I had birds as pets & it was the coolest thing ever. I loved Rio as a child as well.
During the first year of my undergraduate degree, I was looking through my email list & saw that someone had emailed me about a project in the Biology department about Hummingbird Ecology. They needed someone to review footage of Hummingbirds in Columbia & design behavior charts based on them, & I joined them. I had to assign different behaviors to them depending on what they were doing & figure out the intervals that they would do them.
It was very interesting to see how video technology was used in that project especially, & I got to work with an amazing graduate student friend of mine, Alyssa Sargent. She helped me figure out which path I wanted to take, & made me realize I didn’t have to choose one option.
Question No. 5: What attracts you to science communication, & what is your philosophy regarding science communication?
Bill Nye & Emily Grassle certainly helped push me toward Science Communication. I loved how they made others feel comfortable being curious, & encouraged it.
On the EV Nautilus, the vessel I returned from not very long ago, they livestream ROV dives all the time & have everyone wear Microphones so you can hear their live reactions.
My big philosophy when it comes to science communication is to make people unafraid to ask questions because sometimes science can feel very gate-keep-y. It can feel incredibly intimidating to ask a question to a group of people who have all the answers, & almost like they don’t want you to ask the question. At the end of the day, it’s that kind of curiosity that keeps the momentum going in the world of science.
In any way shape or form, I’ve tried to continue doing science communication through media & technology.
Question No. 6: How did you end up studying at the University of Washington?
It’s kind of a funny story. When I moved from the Philippines to the United States, my parents would host a lot of international exchange students who would go to the university. So we would spend every weekend doing touristy things around Seattle with a new student that my parents were hosting for the quarter, & take them to the university, so the university has kind of always been in my life. It was just chance & luck that the University happened to be one of the focal points for marine biology, & happened to have an immense amount of resources & wealth of knowledge.
I’m very in my element here, & it is fantastic to be conducting research in what is basically my backyard! It is also sort of the perfect place for me, as it is so close to home.
Question No. 7: How did you get involved in the eco-physics laboratory at the University of Washington & are you currently conducting research?
The Eco-Physics laboratory was the laboratory with the Hummingbird Ecology Research! As mentioned before, I worked with them in my first year as an undergraduate, & am still working with them as well as Alyssa on some more hummingbird research.
Question No. 8: What is your involvement in the University of Washington Annual Aquatic Open House Event, & how do you contribute to the event?
We hold the Aquatic Open House Event Annually with the School of Aquatic & Fisheries Sciences. It’s wonderful to be working with this university & school because they are very outwardly encouraging of both formal & informal education about marine biology.
We organize a bunch of laboratories to have small workstations or tables at the event, & it is a community event. Some will organize small fake tide pools, while others will bring in miniature ROVs. One of my favorite parts about it is doing the chalk work on the South Campus, we need to lay the groundwork for where the check-in point is, & where the various stations are. I also do large chalk drawings, & draw these massive portraits of marine animals. Many children & their families come to the event & explore the world of aquatic & marine sciences.
I came here as a high-schooler, & remember it very well. Ultimately, it does have a very big impact on some people’s lives & it is a very special thing to be a part of.
Question No. 9: What did you do in your role aboard the recent August-September EV Nautilus Mission in Samoa? How were you selected, & what was a day in the program like?
I recently came back from an expedition in American Samoa - which if you're unfamiliar with that imagine the intersection between New Zealand & Hawaii. It was a very fun & fulfilling expedition, & a massive full-circle moment for me. I remember watching live streams from the EV Nautilus as a teenager, & thinking about how interesting of a job that would be.
One of my close friends informed me of the opening of a Deep Sea Video Operator position on board, & told me that I should apply for it. So I did! I spent the most amazing magical 5 weeks out at sea. I got to work with some of the coolest scientists, & work with cutting-edge technology. It was very enjoyable to be a part of that.
A day on board was very interesting because occasionally you don’t even know what day it is due to the shift changes.
The boat was operational 24 hours a day, & each crew member would have 4 hours of working, then 8 hours off, then 4 hours working, then 8 hours off again. So for me, my day would begin just before noon! I would wake up at around 11:30, which is Lunchtime for everyone on board. After waking up, I would get ready & into some warm comfortable clothing, because by the time noon hits, I have to start my day as a Deep Sea Video Operator.
At around noon, I would trot up to our control room, & check on the ROVs, which stands for Remotely Operated Vehicles. I am not physically in any of the vehicles, however I am operating them from the control room. I like to say that it is like a video game! I control the direction that the camera is pointed in, the amount of light that is fed through the camera, & almost every aspect of the vehicle. It’s very tedious, almost like you are DJing. I would be in that chair from Noon to 4:00 PM, then do a shift change, & pass over responsibilities to the person relieving me.
Once I come out of the control room, I usually get a snack or socialize, then occupy myself until dinnertime. At dinner, I will chow down very quickly, then go up to the control van & relieve the new person of their duties so they can also have dinner.
Question No. 10: How did you become an intern for the NOAA Marine Mammal Laboratory?
I got to do the internship through this very cool partnership between the NOAA’s Alaska Department Of Fisheries Science Center & the University of Washington. The internship was explicitly only offered to University of Washington Students. Some internships are blasted out to people across the world, which can make the application process feel very scary, however with this, it felt a lot less intimidating. It was a phenomenal time, it was my first time properly going out on a research vessel. It was interesting to learn how to deal with the challenges of being in a remote research station, & dealing with things such as lack of wifi, & only being surrounded by my science crew. I was surrounded by some of the most beautiful wildlife ever. It was amazing to really through myself into the deep end, literally.
Very few people are in that area other than researchers or commercial fishermen.
Question No. 11: What did you do in your capacity as an intern with the NOAA?
I worked on drone surveys, photo identification, & on a research vessel studying Steller Sea Lions.
Question No. 12: How did you begin Puget Sound Live!, & who are your collaborators? What exactly does the project do & what are its goals?
It’s funny that you mention that, because Puget Sound Live was an attempt at doing what the EV Nautilus Does, however at a much smaller scale, & in Washington. It was started by me & a very awesome friend of mine, Drew Collins. He is a marine scientist as well as an underwater photographer native to Washington. He reached out to me just before I had graduated High School, & pitched me the idea for the project. Puget Sound Live has divers, such as Drew, dive into Puget Sound while having a microphone, & being live-streamed while they do so. I was the person top side, who was in the boat. I managed the live streams & interactions between the audience & the divers.
Question No. 13: What was your appearance on HiHo’s Children Meet a marine biologist episode, do you mind explaining what you did?
Yeah! So recently HiHo Kids had an open call for someone who was a marine biologist in the Seattle Area.
One of my close colleagues who I had worked with at the Seattle Aquarium told me about the opening, & told me that I should apply. Originally one of my other friends wanted to do this, however, his schedule did not align unfortunately. So he shuttled all the information over to me, & I applied! It honestly feels like a fever dream now, I was originally worried that they would want someone more established in their career.
I didn’t hear back from the production company for a few months, however, eventually, they called me & said that they wanted to have me as the main host for the episode. I got permission to borrow some specimens from the Burke Museum, wrapped them in Bubble Wrap, & headed down to the studio for a day & taught these children about fish!
Question No. 14: What would you say was one of the largest struggles or hurdles that you have encountered in your career?
That is a great question, I would say managing my time & learning to not over-commit myself. Our Field of work is so spontaneous & so much of the work is seasonal, that when you have multiple positions that you wish to have at once, you have to learn to not overcommit yourself.
This past spring I was at a field station for marine biology for 10 weeks, where I ate, slept, & breathed marine biology for my entire day. I went into it thinking that I could keep up my other outside commitments, however I was extremely wrong. I hurt myself, & many of my big network relationships. That is something that still haunts me. The moment that I realized that I was not fine, & that I did need help, hit me like a truck.
Question No. 15: What would you say is the most difficult thing for new marine biologists or marine ecologists?
I think that in the first few years, you have to learn to overcome your imposter syndrome about getting into the industry. Tell yourself that you are fully capable of achieving your goals, & give yourself grace. Additionally, It is alright for your life plan to change from quarter to quarter or semester to semester, as you are still learning & figuring your career out!
Also, Sometimes you have to be the first one to take a jab at things, even if there is no application for something, consider shooting a cold email.
Question No. 16: What is your favorite kind of camera to use underwater?
I use a Sony A7 as my primary camera, I’m trying to get underwater housing for it. It’s mildly annoying that if you don’t set things up properly, saltwater can flood your camera & destroy it.
Question No. 17: What attracts you to photography & videography?
I think that it is just the fact that videography & photography is the most authentic way to capture the world. It is an incredibly important tool for science communication & showcases what is going on in real-time in the world around you. It is something that can make people interested in what you are doing like you can take a mushroom & make it look like the most beautiful glorious thing ever.
It’s a wonderful tool if you know how to balance the aesthetics & creative side of things, with the education & recording aspect.
Question No. 18: What is your favorite photograph that you have taken, & what is your favorite kind of animal to photograph?
Honestly, I don’t know if I have a favorite photograph. When I took my camera up to the Aleutian Islands last summer, there were so many opportunities to film. I got to film a stellar sea lion & her pup, & just watch them interact for a long time. I believe one of them is on the front page of my website.
I also love photographing birds, especially hummingbirds. They are a very easy photo subject as they are everywhere, & they are very mobile. In terms of what my favorite animals to photograph are, birds are a very, very close second.
Question No. 19: What was your inspiration for your short film “Behind The Waves: The Importance of Plankton”, & how did you make it?
I made Behind The Waves towards the end of my high school career, while volunteering at the Seattle Aquarium. My boss suggested that we do a 24-hour youth-a-thon in which anyone from around the world could contribute an hour’s worth of oceanic content, & they offered us a spot to contribute an hour’s length film.
So I & the other youth volunteers at the aquarium teamed up to make an hour-long film about the Importance of Plankton, & roped in a ton of educational elements. The cool thing about the film is that we did all of it, shot, edited, & published the film within two weeks. That includes recording time, animating parts of it, voiceovers, practically everything.
Question No. 20: What is your latest film project?
I’m working on this Hummingbird research Documentary, the filming for it will take place in Columbia & filming will ideally begin in August 2025. There are talks of getting these expensive slow-motion cameras down there to capture these fast-paced animals in a new light. That is the big project that I am working on now.
The running title for it is “Hummingbird’s Eye View”, & there is going to be a lot of cool research equipment that we plan to test next summer. Apart from that, we want to focus on the scientists themselves working in their home base of Colombia. We want to show you that they are people too, & we want to show their stories. We want to tell stories about their families, & how they got involved in science. Scientists are people you know, we don’t just crunch numbers all day.
Question No. 21: How did you become interested in design & how did you begin doing graphic design commissions?
I started designing these silly little club logos when I was in High School because there were a lot of clubs. Many wanted to create Instagram Accounts or have flyers, & on a whim, I thought “Hey, I like drawing”, & began designing things. Slowly my friends started picking up on it, & at first, I gave away designs for free, until many people were reaching out for custom designs. That slowly began to progress into legitimate commissions.
During my first year of college, I jokingly brought in this pack of stickers that I had designed because we were doing a show & tell to a group of second graders, & everybody loved it.
My professor of that class, which was a class based around Science Communication, told me that one of the observatories that he was working with was turning 50 that year, & they wanted some sticker & merchandise designs for it. That was my first very large commission where I was being paid by a large organization. So that got me thinking, “What if I offered this as a service?”, & I started taking myself a little bit more seriously.
Question No. 22: How many commissions have you done, & what was the largest commission you have ever done?
That’s a really good question because I don’t keep track of it well! I have probably worked on more projects than I can recall, from sticker designs to logos, & even branding packages. I honestly have no idea, however, I’m sure that it is an exponential amount.
I think my biggest long-term project & is also my favorite project due to the personal connection that I have with it. One of my good old friends, Natalie, from way back in Middle School & Early High School had a YouTube channel that she started back then. She stuck with it through high school, & committed herself to it. She made these awesome cinematic short films about her life & her own coming-of-age story. We fell out of contact for a little while, until my first semester of college she contacted me. She told me that she was doing this short film series about renovating a vintage camper van & traveling across the country, & asked for my help on it. I absolutely wanted to, so she commissioned me to do the animations & merchandise for her short series.
It was one of the most meaningful projects that I have ever done because I met so many other amazing talented filmmakers & small business owners who were only 1 to 2 years older than me. It kind of burst open this whole community of YouTubers & people in the short film industry, & I’ve been super-close to many of them to this day. I’m actually meeting up with a few of them in December for my Birthday! It took nine months all said & done.
Question No. 23: What was the Puget Sound: We Love You campaign that you designed?
So during the COVID-19 Pandemic, all the aquariums closed & we couldn’t do in-person stuff anymore. But that left a lot of people, including me, who were very used to in-person science communication, kind of lost. We were all wondering, “How do we continue the thing that we love now that there is COVID?”. The Aquarium pitched an idea to the Youth of the Aquarium to reactivate their Instagram Account, as it hadn’t been active for a few years. So, Puget Sound We Love You is kind of the Aquarium’s way of reintroducing us to Science Communication, & allowing us to explore things that we wouldn’t get to in an in-person setting.
You are actually quite limited when it comes to in-person things, because who can come to our events? People who live nearby, have the means to get to us, & can afford a ticket. In doing Puget Sound We Love You, we opened the door for so many more people to interact with us. I ran Puget Sound We Love You with a team of 5 others for the first year, and then for the second year, I came back in a senior position.
Question No. 24: Do you have any final words or things to say about photography, design, science communication, or the ocean?
Truly listen to what makes you tick about Science Communication, or whatever field gets you excited. Also, advocate for yourself, no matter where you are in your career.
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