As Ansel Adams once said, “You don’t make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.” As an avid photographer I’m firm believer that there is more to photography than just snapping the shutter. Photography is an art! Music is an art! Writing a book is an art! Yet we are all inspired by life’s creations and want to be creative in our own ways.
I have been snapping photos since I was 13 years old. The first camera I owned was a Minolta x700 film camera; passed down from my father. I spent countless summer evenings capturing the sunset, fall mornings capturing the crisp colorful trees and winter afternoons hiking through 12-inch snowdrifts to capture the sleek winter landscapes on Indiana. Throughout my early childhood into adulthood, I carried a camera day in and day out. It was not till after college graduation did I realized that my true passion lied behind the lens.
I’ve traveled the back roads of America capturing some of the most inspiring, breath-taking landscape this country has to offer. Much of my success has come from landscape photography. However when I am not capturing landscape, I’m most likely photographing live music. Being an avid film photographer, I enjoy telling a story with every concert I photograph. I feel I have a completely different editing scheme than any music photographer shooting today. In fact some people have said “Mark is like Photo Journalist with an artistic twist to his concert photography.”
I’ve had the honor to photograph the legendary bluegrass artist, Del McCoury and his glorious festival held every year in the mountains of Cumberland, MD called DelFest. I have captured other great musicians such as Trey Anastasio, Bela Fleck, Steve Martin, Sam Bush, Yonder Mountain String Band and the list can continue on. My work has been published at Jams Plus Media countless of times. I’ve also had photos published in and on the front cover of Upstate Live.
As I sign off I want to leave you with another famous quote from Ansel Adams that I live by daily. “No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit.”
Best,
Mark L. Loveless