nature · landscape · global travel
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ABOUT MARK S. PETERSON
I am a photographer specializing in natural history and global travel photographic images. I consider myself to be a "portrait" photographer - but my subjects are seldom people. Rather, I attempt to make dramatic, artistic portraits of our world.
My work is concentrated in two broad areas:
NATURE AND LANDSCAPES -- My primary photographic interest is nature photography. My work explores the intimate details and patterns found in the natural environment, and I consider close-up and macro nature photography to be my overall specialty. You'll find an abundance of close-up nature portraits in my online galleries and print exhibits. But I can't avoid photographing the overall landscape in which those small details are found, and I offer a selection of landscape images in addition to the nature portraits.
GLOBAL TRAVEL -- My second photographic passion is travel photography. I'm lucky to have been able to travel extensively over the years, both for my career and for pleasure. During this travel I've focused on capturing images of the cultural elements that define the locations I've visited. Architectural details, local markets and crafts, and cultural icons of daily life all make fascinating portrait study during travel.
I have been photographing since childhood in the early 1970s when, at age 7, my grandmother gave me a Kodak Brownie. By age 12, I had a full darkroom in my parents' basement and was photographing with a vintage rangefinder camera from the 1950s (an Argus C3), using a handheld lightmeter to determine my exposures. I have many years' experience processing my own film and producing my own prints using traditional darkroom methods.
I have also pursued outdoor activities such as hiking, backpacking, camping, and adventure travel from a young age. Photography has been my mechanism to share the beauty of the world discovered during my outdoor adventures and the excitement of my travels. During college, I worked as the staff photographer for my college's public relations office, greatly advancing my composition and darkroom skills and seeing my images in national print for the first time. My career has consisted of a variety of positions in marketing consulting, advertising, and higher education, and has included a rewarding experience managing an ad agency photo studio. I travel today for both business and pleasure, and photograph whenever possible to continue to build and refresh my image files.
My photographs have been published in national and regional publications, including magazine editorial articles, national and regional advertising campaigns, annual reports, books, and websites. Publication photo buyers are invited to visit my Stock Photography page for more information about licensing my images.
My images are also available as fine art photographs, and have appeared in group and solo exhibitions throughout the Midwest. I print my photographs with meticulous attention to detail in my own digital lab. Please visit my Print Purchase page for complete info.
Photographic Equipment
I am frequently asked what camera(s) I use. Selling my work at art festivals, there are days I probably get asked this question in excess of 50 times!
I am a firm believer that great photos can be made with any brand and type of currently available camera. The photo industry cliche is correct to a large extent - it's not the camera that makes a great photograph, it's the person behind it. That said, it's important to select the "right" camera for the type of photograph a photographer wants to produce: a camera that can become intuitive with use, that is part of a system which contains components relevant to one's photographic work and growth of that work, and that is capable of producing images of acceptable quality for one's needs. Film or digital? There are sound arguments for both, and I currently use both.
I have owned a variety of cameras and camera systems over the years: Pentax 35mm, Nikon 35mm and Digital, Canon 35mm and Digital, Rolleiflex 6x6 medium format, and Horseman and Shen-Hao 4x5 large format cameras with Nikkor and Fujinon lenses. Some of these I have kept for years, others only for a short time due to some aspect of the interface or system that didn't suit my needs.
At this point in time, most of my new work is digital and my primary camera system is centered around the 12.4-megapixel Nikon D2x camera - I find image quality from this camera, along with Nikon's excellent lenses, to be outstanding. I also use a Rolleiflex 6006/Mod2 and a Rolleiflex 6001 (these are 6x6cm medium-format SLR cameras) and their Zeiss lenses extensively. A few images featured on this site were also captured with a Canon EOS 1D Mark II digital SLR loaned to me for trial by Canon USA.
I use Gitzo tripods, Kirk BH-1 and BH-3 tripod heads with Kirk and Really Right Stuff arca-compatible tripod accessories, Fujichrome Velvia (transparency) and Kodak Portra (negative) film, and Nikon 4000dpi film scanners. When I use filters, I primarily use B+W brand polarizers (these are made by German lens-maker Schneider-Kreuznach) and Singh-Ray's "Galen Rowell" line of graduated neutral-density filters. My printer is an Epson Stylus Professional 7800 wide-format studio printer, which uses an archival pigment ink set and produces fabulous prints which will last far longer than traditional lab prints. Occasionally, I sell photo equipment I no longer use, here.