From one passion to another

It was his consuming passion for model electric trains as a child and teenager that led Martin Alarie to a career as a professional photographer.

At 16, the Montreal-born future photographer wanted to record on film the model-train scenarios he had painstakingly built with a passion for detail, creativity and railroad engineering skills reflected in his miniature reproductions of entire railway systems. His desire was to ‘bring to life’ his small-scale figures lovingly painted with micro-brushes, and placed among trees, tracks, buildings and trains he had caringly integrated into the intricate scenes reflecting entire railway networks.

Friends and relatives were quick to acknowledge his remarkable work as a budding photographer. For about ten years, Martin Alarie was ever-present at anniversaries, birthdays, weddings and other special occasions taking exquisite pictures, asking nothing in return. “The requests started to accumulate. My time became more precious and scarce, so I started asking for small amounts of money,” he explains.

With bittersweet emotions, the young man sold his model-train collection in 2001, investing the $10,000 in state-of-the-art photography equipment of celluloid variety, resisting the temptation and allure of digital photography.

To pay his way, he continued to deliver catered buffets for his parents, whose Boulevard des Prairies business has been well-known in Laval circles as La P’tite Campagne, for the past twenty years.

On the other side of the table, Ann Boissonneault, Courrier Laval advertising counselor, vividly recalls the meeting: “I saw the quality of his photography. At the time, I knew we were looking for photographers. Martin expressed interest, saying he had wanted to work with us for a long time. I advised him to convert to digital photography, after which I recommended him to management.” It was due to Ann’s perceptive eye and good judgment that we have Martin Alarie on the staff of Courrier Laval and its half-dozen weekly publications, including the English Section of the Bilingual Edition.