Mark of Mark Nicholas Photography

* Why you love photography?

“For me, photography is an escape. While I thoroughly enjoy the process of selling photos, I shoot for the love of the image. I enjoy the process of photography, for the planning right through to the execution of the shot. As an astrophotographer, the majority of what I do is plan.”

* Your favorite type of photography?

“I have always gravitated toward the more technical styles of photography, like astrophotography, macro and high speed (such as water drops). An artistic session on a rainy Sunday might involve sitting on the ground an shooting the rain bounce off the sidewalk. Since my focus is on the creation of an artistic image, I am free to experiment and screw up endlessly without any limitations, free to take pretty much forever to get something I like.”

* A funny/interesting photography story?

“What is funny in retrospect can be some of the most challenging aspects of photography. I once drove five hours into the middle of death valley only to drop a small battery that was needed to align my tracking scope. While I love people, I don’t shoot them often, so my comedy comes from other experiences altogether.”

* Photography tips or tricks?

“The one piece of advice that I could offer is to slow down. I try to plan, think and look through the eyepiece. I look corner to corner to identify problems and things that could disrupt my image. I’m good at Photoshop, but I’m not really the person who wants to have to fix it all in post. The increased frame rate seems to cause more problems than it helps when it comes to just nailing that one magical shot. Many of the pros that I shoot with, including the wildlife, sports and event shooters, tend to fire more slowly, taking more time to capture the image, nail focus and bring home those top images. This is not a machine gun we’re dealing with. It is the amateurs who sit at their maximum frame rate. I don’t know how they do it.
My other piece of advice is to shoot wide. It helps with focus and gives options in framing, and more importantly, it can save a shot when movement is unanticipated. With all the megapixels comes options, so I do tend to back off a bit.”

* Comments about your web site design?

“Smugmug: Every photographer needs something like Smugmug. I’ve been with Smugmug for many years now and the benefits that online storage offers are substantial. Smugmug offers some extra bells and whistles too, such as an arrangement called the Vault, which can help store RAW images and so forth. Functionally, I use the site to host shots taken for others and can provide secret/hidden links so that only my client or subject can view the images. I use the video storage for sharing HD videos. Also, while I sell my images primarily through other means, there are some pretty cool benefits for the commercial photographer.

jR Customization: My transition from a typical website to Smugmug for my entire hosting relationship has been an interesting one, and it is still developing even as I prepare for a more significant e-commerce rollout. The company I worked with, JR Customization, was able to help take me in a direction that I didn’t know was possible for Smugmug. I am pleased with what we were able to accomplish and believe that utilizing Smugmug for both general content as well as client photography is sure to increase general exposure to the different styles of photography I shoot. That, along with some pretty cool functionality that Smugmug has recently provided (such as guest uploading) should help increase print sales and client engagements.”

– Mark

Visit Mark Nicholas Photography at Mark Nicholas Photography to take a look at Mark’s photos!