We are excited to announce Mark Wingert as this month’s featured VHT photographer! Take a moment to learn more about Mark. Thank you so much to Mark for taking the time to share with us.
Mark has been photographing professionally since 2003, and has traveled as far as New Zealand to take one-of-a-kind photographs. Based in Minnesota, Mark has been with VHT since the beginning of 2011.
5 Questions With Mark
When did you become interested in this field of study?
I became interested in photography when I was a freshman at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. There were a few professors that helped develop my passion for photography along my college career as well.
What do you enjoy most about being a photographer?
The things I enjoy most about being a photographer are; that I get to meet a variety of interesting people from CEO’s of international companies to professional athletes and just everyday amazing people. I enjoy being very good at what I do, everyone has access to these tools but having the understanding and knowledge to create something truly unique is really fun.
Why is Photography important to you?
Photography has grown in its importance to me over the years; it started as something fun to do and has continued to flourish and become a defining characteristic of who I am. Photography has let me see the beauty that is in everyone, it allows us to stop our fasted paced lives and freeze that moment and in that moment say so much without using a single word. Photography allows me to creatively feed my family.
Thus far, what has been your favorite shoot ever? For VHT?
Its hard to pick a favorite shoot, I have gotten to do so many unique things; like going to New Zealand and photograph the Ironman race there. That one was so fun because of the size of the event and just the overall length, we shot for a little over 18 hours that day and it rained the whole time it was an experience that I will never forget. Or it could be that my favorite shoot was the Ten Thousand Lakes Festival where hundreds of bands come and play for days. Though for VHT picking my favorite shoot is a bit easier, I was able to drive a 180 miles one way to photograph a home out on a lake in northern Minnesota, it was a beautifully designed home out on an even more beautiful lake.
Do you believe in the expression “A picture is worth 1,000 words”? If so, why do you believe this is true?
I don’t really believe in that saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words”, there is so much more to a photo than just words. A photograph can remind you of what it was like to be a kid or convey love without words. It is a medium that is understood across cultures and socioeconomic lines. A photograph can start a war or remind you that we all love our children, it can make you feel happy or sad, it can make the unbelievable now believable. So a photograph is worth much more than a thousand words, its worth is derived from the viewer and that’s what makes photography truly unique.
Mark’s Work
Click here to view Mark’s photography website for some of his additional work!