Winter 2005 - University Photographers' Association of America

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DEPTH OF FIELD Mark, a practicing Mormon, has been the photographer for Brigham Young University for so long even his university president introduces him as"the old guy" to visitors. His longevity stems in no small part from having started in his current position going back to his undergraduate days as a photography communications major at BYU. The photography bug actually hit Mark in high school when, as a sophomore he was tutoring a senior who always seemed to be missing from class, in trigonometry. Mark, who would actually enter BYU as a mathematics major, found out that this student was on the yearbook staff, and school gave him credit for class attendance while in the pursuit of 'yearbook business.' This seemed like a good idea to Mark who asked about joining the yearbook himself. "I couldn't spell, write or sell advertising, so I asked what else there was," Mark recalls. “Ever try taking a picture ? I was sent to my first assignment, covering a baseball game. They gave me a Pentax Spotmatic with a 200 mm lens and some TRI-X. Keep in mind I had never shot anything before, even family stuff. But they ended up using some photos I had shot that day." And so a career was born. Mark became photo editor his first year and co-editor of the entire yearbook his second. He laughs as he adds, "I like to say that I got into photography to get out of class." Mark has an enviable track record over the years in the UPAA Print Competition. Since joining UPAA in 1983 (that old man thing again), and winning Photographer of the Year right out of the gate that same year, he has placed a total of 71 prints (this includes first, second, third place and honorable mentions), six of those being also Best of Show. That is a remarkable rate of placing an average of 3.4 prints in every year's competition. As someone who can appreciate placing one or two prints a year (if 4 UPAA Contact Sheet
DEPTH OF FIELD any), it was humbling to converse with the 'ole master. Philbrick was POY in 1983,1990,1994,1995,1999 and again in 2004. There was no POY chosen by UPAA for 1984 or 1985, as it was not the custom for anyone back then to win more than once. I had to squeeze these numbers out of a somewhat embarrassed Mark, who while very serious about this competition and his work, does not like to toot his own horn. In fact, when Mark came back from this year's symposium in Houston and met with his mostly student staff, the thing he was most excited about was that BYU had won another Best of Show print……..For a shot taken by his colleague (and another BYU student photo intern that made the permanent staff) Jaren Wilkey. It must be the water or the crisp Utah air. Only later in the meeting did Mark admit to picking up another POY for himself. "He's really a humble guy," volunteers Jaren about his boss. Jaren started working with Mark seven years ago, after having been photo editor at a community college, and then also working on the BYU student paper. "When I came on, I thought I knew everything. Mark gently let me know that I didn't. " Jaren and Mark are the two full time shooters at BYU, but some photography is also handled by two student workers. As senior Annie Jones adds, “He's wonderful to work for. He's blunt but in a very nice way. He'll tell you when you've done something wrong. He expects a lot out of you, and he trusts us to run the department when he's away. We all want to live up to his expectations." One of the perks Mark has cultivated during his tenure is every year following a BYU research, student or performance group as they travel to distant locales. Mark has managed to literally see the world by doing so. This summer he followed the BYU folk dancers as they performed at festivals in France. Two research trips resulted in award winning photo essays of recent memory: Students touring volcanic sites in Hawaii, for a field geology class and students in a field marine science workshop, that also resulted in a Best of Show print in UPAA Contact Sheet 5
Page 1 and 2: THE CONTACT SHEET Journal of the Un
Page 3: DEPTH OF FIELD A UPAA Feature by Ni
Page 7 and 8: DEPTH OF FIELD last year's Print Co
Page 9 and 10: DEPTH OF FIELD two facing computers
Page 11 and 12: FOCAL LENGTH Carnevale - the final
Page 13 and 14: FOCAL LENGTH Giovanni Martini stand
Page 15 and 16: FOCAL LENGTH A photo illusttraton f
Page 17 and 18: THE 2004 SYMPOSIUM NEGATIVE BEGINNI
Page 19 and 20: THE 2004 SYMPOSIUM SCIENCE & RESEAR
Page 21 and 22: BITS & CHIPS A UPAA Technical Colum
Page 23 and 24: LATENT IMAGE Vanderbilt Photographe

Winter 2005 - University Photographers' Association of America

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