MARK NELSON

I work two ways with images, internally and externally. The internal work comes from my own imagination. I am very deliberate in how I re-create and photograph them. The external work includes those moments, where a tree or a seedpod catches my attention. I want to capture that moment and share it with other people. People rush through their lives and miss so much. Perhaps my images will help them see a few things they missed along the way.

I enjoy photographing people. Even though a photograph represents a point in time, the images should tell you where people have been, where they are now, and where they are going. My greatest love is the human figure and capturing both the physical beauty and the energy within the person I am photographing. I love how the process of photographing a person may encourage them to reveal who they wish to become and encourages them to become more aware of their own energy, power and magic.

I don't think of the people I photograph in my figure work as models. I think of them as collaborators. I may create an environment or situation for the person to experience and then I document their experience. Some of my figure work is more like an abstract still life, while other images represent the human figure more in a context and the figure is define much by what surrounds it. I like images with mystery. I don't consider any part of the human body as more or less appropriate to photograph—it is all part of a wonderful creation.

My interests in the world around me are very wide-ranging and my photography reflects this. I follow my interests and take my camera along. The camera is my pen. It is a sophisticated tool, which provides a path to my own growth.

You make a choice when you take a photograph. You choose what is important to you and what fascinates you. The final image is then colored by reaching deep down inside yourself and creating your own visualization of the flower, the tree, or the human figure. Hopefully when someone views your image, this feeling is passed on to them to share and enjoy.