DEPTH OF FIELD 6 UPAA Contact Sheet
DEPTH OF FIELD last year's Print Competition. That photo is a dramatic silhouette <strong>of</strong> a class at the Monterey Aquarium in front <strong>of</strong> a tank with colorful jellyfish. As Mark explains, the lighting was there and didn't require him to change anything on that level. He did place the figures where he wanted them, and then directed the class to ask the pr<strong>of</strong>essor questions using their hands. Manually focused at wide open at about 1/ 125 second, Mark just needed some patience for the jellyfish to cooperate and swim into the right spots. These essays work well with Mark's style for as he puts it "The majority <strong>of</strong> what I shoot is photojournalistic." The Hawaii trip came about due to Mark's contacts with a BYU pr<strong>of</strong>essor. When he heard about this class, it was an easy sell to the administration "Our university has a lot <strong>of</strong> international mentoring and outreach programs. They are always looking for this kind <strong>of</strong> stuff," Philbrick comments. In fact, these photos ran in all sorts <strong>of</strong> publications and posters. The travel, while a bit taxing on Mark's personal life, is ultimately very visually inspiring. "I like anything that doesn't look like here (Provo, Utah), the third world, wilderness, the jungle." For his travel kit, Mark usually carries three digital Nikon camera bodies, lenses in 12mm, 17-35mm, 28-70mm, 70-200mm, a TC-14 teleconverter, two or three Nikon 800 strobes (which he sets up on stands and utilizes with Pocket Wizard slave units, as he likes to stay away from on camera flash). For the trip to France, Mark started using a Photoware backpack, which he's become very fond <strong>of</strong>. He also travels with a Titanium Powerbook Mac and a day bag for the camera equipment. BYU has been all digital for at least three or four years, and Mark has used every version <strong>of</strong> Adobe Photoshop since the s<strong>of</strong>tware was created way back when. He likes to shoot most everything in Fine JPEG format, saying he finds that Nikon RAW files just don't give him what he's looking for. Mark admits he's been very fortunate in being able to always obtain whatever was needed for him to do his job. With Jaren on board fulltime and other student shooters, BYU has a Nikon arsenal <strong>of</strong> two D2H's, two D1-X's, two D1H's, two D-100's and one D- 70. Plus all the latest auto-focus lenses. Mark makes a common observation amongst <strong>University</strong> Photographers when he says "Before computers, buying a camera was a luxury. A camera was expected to last twenty years. The paradigm has changed." What also helps is that the photo department is a on a chargeback system for most university work, and Mark and Jaren have a nice contract as the <strong>of</strong>ficial photographers for the Western Athletic Conference, which also brings in some money that can be invested in updating equipment. Despite his loyalty to (and the business associated with) Nikon over the years, Mark's department has also recently purchased two Canon Mark II's to try out, mostly because <strong>of</strong> problems with the Nikon aut<strong>of</strong>ocus system. These should get a good workout as the photo department covers a lot <strong>of</strong> sports, including all <strong>of</strong> BYU football games. He's got the expensive toys, he's got the exotic locations. Even when he doesn't travel <strong>of</strong>f campus, he can capture a jaw dropping shot like the First Place winner in this year's Campus Environment category <strong>of</strong> the Print Competition. What really puts Mark over the top is his relentless quest to push himself creatively, never be satisfied with what he's done, but to always try something new. For example, BYU has two graduations annually, so Mark figures he's now photographed more than fifty. Still, each one is different and a new challenge for him. "I always try to get a few shots that I've never done before. Part <strong>of</strong> my philosophy for every day is what can you do that's different?" An example <strong>of</strong> this philosophy at work can be illustrated by another Best <strong>of</strong> Show shot <strong>of</strong> two relay UPAA Contact Sheet 7
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