>>Mark Harrelson-Bio:

The very first camera I ever owned was a Kodak disc camera. My parents bought two, one for my sister and one for me before they shipped us off to summer camp in North Carolina. I loved it. This was also my first experience taking landscape photos. We would do 3-4 day hikes through the Appalachian Mountains, the scenery was incredible.

When I attended the University of Arizona in 1993 I rediscovered my passion for photography. I signed up for a photojournalism class without even owning a camera. After the first class I knew I found my career. Not photojournalism, but photography in general. I bought a Nikon 6006 35mm camera. It was fantastic! Only the price of film held me back from shooting more than I did. My teacher was an AP photographer, Professor William Greer. He was a great teacher. We would get assignments and have to go out and photograph it, then develop the film and make a print. He was very encouraging, and I credit him with my success in photography. His words the first day of class stuck, "crop ruthlessly and mercilessly." I do that with every photo I take, if not in the lens, then in the darkroom, less is more.

The journalism department could only offer so much photography education though. So I switched all my classes over to photography classes in the fine art department. I studied under Harold Jones and Ken Schorr, who were also very encouraging teachers. I also worked in the department, repairing enlargers and keeping the darkrooms up. Which was perfect for me, because then I had a key. It was common for me to go in the darkroom at 8pm and not emerge until 8am. I learned to make toners from raw chemicals and perfect my printing process.

After college I moved to Los Angeles and got involved in the commercial photography business. I started as an assistant then moved on to producing and location scouting. I worked with some of the best in the business and I learned more about photography than I ever thought possible.