Mark the Photographer

Thought it was about time I told a little bit about myself! Ok, where to start?

I'm Mark, I'm currently 40 years old (although I'm told I look younger :) ) and I have a day job. In my spare time I like to play Mark the photographer, so I often book beauty and modelling shoots through networking site or stylish friends who want to pose. I prefer to shoot location portraits as I don't have a studio, although hopefully that will change in the not-too-distant future! Fashion and beauty photoshoots can be done with minimal equipment e.g. flash and reflectors, although the best results can often be gained in a studio-For this reason I currently hire a studio until I can get the space and lighting equipment.

I'm self taught, although I did study photography at school all those years ago, with an Olympus.. I think. My dream camera back then was an Olympus OM10Ti, so I might indulge one day. Nowadays I want a Leica and a medium format camera..but digital is fine at the moment. i use a Nikon D3 digital camera, with an older D2H as backup. It's a superb camera with great low-light capability and image quality. I have three prime lenses, a medium zoom and a 70-200mm fixed f/2.8 zoom, which is heavy. Of course, I want more! Got my eye on the new Nikon primes- 24 and 84mm, plus a 200 f/2 and maybe a tilt-shift. I'd probably also like a 14-24 as I like to shoot landscapes when I get time to relax.

Other hobbies include reading photography tutorials and getting inspiration from fashion photographers' websites..no names though! I oil painting when I can, and have started visiting London galleries (see earlier blog posts). I have also started a whiskey collection..I used to hate whiskey but now I love all the different interesting flavours.. especially those from Islay and Speyside. Must be my age ;) 

Well that's enough for now, keep an eye out for the second part. Hope you found it interesting, why not let me know by adding a comment?