Born in Brisbane in the 50s, Mark grew up the youngest of 5. With a much older brother a talented media photographer, it wasn't long before he had a camera in his hands. No matter what the subject, he had to find a different way to photograph it. A different angle, different lighting.. anything to give the shot an edge. 

Of course it all started when he was seven.. I helped him pick out his first camera. A huge investment of 5 shillings (50c) from Coles in Brunswick Street in Brisbane. It was just down from my newspaper's office so I met him there with his mother and then watched as he proudly carried that camera to the tram stop. That was the easy part! The hard part was teaching him how to "see" photographs with the naked eye. Not through the camera. Too many people look through the camera searching for an image. You see, image is already there if you know where to look for it.. the camera is simply the tool the photographer uses to record the image.

Mark grew to become a talented photographer while still a teenager. He shot his first wedding at only 19 and I knew then that he could "see the light"! It was obvious that Mark was on his way to an exciting career in photography!

But his real love was commercial photography! How to make a sometimes boring image come to life, to find that one interesting angle that would make a hero shot for a catalogue or magazine advert. He photographed everything and anything! Trucks, tractors, bottles of softdrinks being filled (and the people who filled them) and all sorts of things. He would often print them up and bring them to me for a critique. The images amazed me!

Hand in hand with his photographic talent is Mark's knack for getting on with people; he really finds them interesting and likes to excite them with the images he creates for them. (Unlike a lot of other photographers I have met who think that an assignment is an opportunity for them to stretch their egos while the client pays!) Having seen Mark's professional work for nearly 40 years; he still impresses me with what he conjures up for his clients. And his clients, like BHP Billiton, Telstra, Brisbane City Council, Bradnam's Group, Volvo Trucks, NSW Government, QLD Government, Commonwealth Government and many, many others love what he has created for them. And knowing what he can do; I'm not surprised

If you have an appreciation for great photography, then you'll love his work too!

Vivian Boland
Mirror Newspaper Group Photographer (Ret)