Wylie Maercklein

Wylie Maercklein is a freelance photographer, writer, and filmmaker based out of Austin, TX. His documentary work has taken him from Nicaragua to the Arctic Ocean and from Louisiana to Liberia. His non-documentary work tends to require less travel than all that.

Wylie's portfolio is available for purchase as a photobook.

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"Wylie has a unique "talent" for exposing the grotesque and unfortunate minutiae that otherwise lay occluded, some might say where they belong, beneath the veneer of everyday life. Every skewed glance is filtered through binary-colored glasses: black and white, light and shadow, jubilation and sorrow, desolation and... loneliness? He seeks to perpetuate a terrible iconography via glass and manipulation; fortunately for us, however, he often fails in this regard and occasionally stumbles upon the transcendent and the real. Look upon these images and mock with us the confines of mortality and physical law. Gaze upon this work and weep."
-Adam Shell, Producer

"Wylie has incredible vision. I've never worked with another photographer who brought so much creative energy to a project. Whenever we want something to look awesome, we call Wylie."
-Jonathon Morgan, Director

"You wanna know what pisses me off about Wylie? He's better than me. Go ahead, ask him what that takes. He's crazy like a crack bat, whatever that is. Once in Africa I heard he helped a Speckle-Throated Nippletick give birth AND photographed it too. But that's just what I heard. Still, that's badass!"
-Scott McCauley, Cinematographer

"With an amazing ability to strike a balance between creativity and purpose, Wylie lends value in any project I have seen him participate in. He has a unique ability to capture energy and emotion, and it is evident in his work."
-Chris Ragland, Entrepreneur

"Your photos are fucking great!"
-Anonymous Associate Editor, SPIN Magazine

"Although I have often made the joke that Wylie's lens only captures sorrow when viewing photographs of myself that he has taken, there is some amount of undeniable truth to that statement. I believe that his shots capture something that no other eye or iris can see. Equip another photographer with an identical camera and lens and let the two shoot a fashion show. While one may show you glitz and seduction, Wylie will manage to unveil what lies beneath the carefully applied makeup, garish hair extensions and padded bras. A camera in Wylie's hands is akin to a mirror that accurately reflects the true nature of its subject."
-Daniel Isaac, Director

"Wylie is a photographic aficionado! He is by far the best photographer I've ever had the luck of working with. If you're looking for a photograph that will inspire, mystify, and blow you out of the water - look no further. Wylie is your man!"
-Cari Palazzolo of the band Belaire

"Umm, did you mean to chop off the top of my head like that?"
-Anonymous Model

"Wylie is bitchin' amazing. If Tim Burton was on acid, this is what his pictures would look like."
"Wylie is the photographer all the cool people want to be, but they can't because he already is."
"WYLIE COULDN'T BE MORE OF A MASTERMIND. WE SHOULD ALL BOW DOWN AND WORSHIP HIM WHEN HE IS HOLDING HIS CAMERA."
-Sherri DuPree of the band Eisley

"I feel so bad for them. As soon as they got to their suite, [The Groom] apparently seriously injured his eye in a freak hugging accident and had to immediately be rushed to the ER. Apparently [The Bride]'s white dress was covered in blood on the scene. I thought of you when I heard about it - more in the vein of your...photography?"
-Lauren P. Dodge, Makeup Artist

"A few years ago, before he entered the world of professional photography, I asked Wylie if he had a camera. He responded, rather accurately, 'A camera? I can barely see!'
"Since that day, he's developed a truly unique photographic vision, which I can only assume can be accredited to his literal inability to see real life. Like a mad scientist replacing his failing body parts with indestructible mechanics, Wylie has used his camera to create an entirely new form of vision. Sometimes aimless, often perverse, but always interesting, Wylie's work challenges the reality perceived by those of us still fettered with human eyes. Now, if only he could invent a heart, he'd be on to something."
-Austin Hice, Director

"I have encountered Wylie on several sets, most notably in his role as still photographer. I am impressed by his eye for framing and human connections. He finds a unique way to explore the moments between his subjects' awareness of the camera. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I suppose the greatest flattery I can offer Wylie is that I lifted some of his post-production creative treatments for my own work."
-Michael Morlan, Cinematographer