Mark developed an appreciation for natural beauty at a young age. Although it wasn’t immediately apparent to him, the influences that would eventually bring him to photography, surrounded him his entire life.
Growing up, Mark and his brother shared a room. Like most kids their age, their room was adorned with posters. Unlike most kids their age their room was different. Mark’s father was in the Air Force and brought posters of airplanes home for Mark and his brother to hang up. By time Mark graduated high school he and his brother had had over 100 posters on the wall. Their room was a collage of aircraft, floor to ceiling all the way around! He was literally surrounded by photographs, but it was Marks mother that was the true inspiration for his photography. It was through her eyes, that Mark learned to recognize, and appreciate the simplicity and joy in the details of life that many tend to overlook like lady bugs, buttercups, bumble bees, and cardinals, or pointing out a baby calf out in a field as she drove down the road.
