Photography
Welcome to my website of landscapes, people, and vibrant places from my travels.
Photos are copyright Mark Nanes
mark.nanes@gmail.com
About me…
At the age of 14 I was given a used 35mm film camera. By age 15 I had a darkroom set up in the basement. Photography was an expensive hobby for a teenager so I got a job developing film for the local newspaper. I dropped off prints for the next edition on my way to school. I was amazed by the emotional impact of images captured by famous photographers like Robert Capa or David Douglas Duncan. My passion was nurtured by an appreciation of the art of Bruce Davidson, Diane Arbus, Henri Cartier Bresson, Edward Weston and the landscapes of Ansel Adams. Their photographs preserve a moment, an emotion, sometimes the soul of a subject or place. After college the time to photograph was replaced by medical school, residency and specialty training and my camera collected dust. I missed the smell of a fresh roll of film and of darkroom chemicals. The remarkable creation of digital imaging rekindled my interest. 10 years ago, I began to shoot again, this time with a digital camera and a computer replacing the film and darkroom. My photos are a creative outlet, a way for me to view the world and sometimes look inward. I remain an amateur photographer exploring places and people through my viewfinder. You are welcome to share the view through my lens at marknanes.myportfolio.com.
About my work...
As a photographer, my inspiration comes from landscape painters like John Constable, Thomas Cole, and Albert Bierstadt. Painting and photography are more similar than different. First, something about the view catches your eye. You stare, compose, obsess over a few technical details, and then you make an indelible image that is part memory and part interpretation. I am drawn to a beautiful landscape. The view releases you. It gives you a feeling of freedom and ties you to the place. A good landscape photo makes you want to be there. Photographically speaking, some landscapes are defined by their colors but others need the simplicity and clarity of black and white. More recently I have focused on people and how they are a part of their landscape. In the selection of photographs shown here you will find recognizable places viewed in the clarity of black and white and also examples of people immersed in the color of their surroundings. “Stonehenge” and “Pisa” were photographed recently. In “Cannoli Girl” (Bustling Venice-People, 2022), a Venetian woman is enveloped and seems a part of the cannoli in her shop. In “Glass Shop Bath England”, (Journey Through Britain 2024), a woman walking by a shop window becomes entrapped in the display of a red vase, at least from the camera’s perspective. She becomes part of the display. “Smoking Man, Burano”, (Bustling Venice-People, 2022), wears a bright crimson shirt that melds him with the background of colorful Burano buildings. These people have become part of their environment. “Sheep Dog Trainer” (Journey Through Britain, 2024) struck me because of the oneness of the trainer and his dog as they herd sheep. An elderly man sitting at a street café caught my lens in “Solitude” (Le Marche, 2025). He was alone, staring into the empty square in a small town in Italy. His solitude was palpable. Two empty wine glasses are seen and his scuffed shoes must have been his oldest friends. Photography has been an enjoyable and valuable tool for discovery. I hope that you will enjoy viewing my work.
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All Photos are copyright Mark Nanes
Thank you!