Location: New Zealand
Mark Wills is a 27 year old budding photographer from Alexandra in Central Otago, New Zealand. In August of 2010 Mark picked up his first digital single lens reflex (SLR) camera a Canon 550D with a 18-135mm zoom lens, since then Mark has quickly developed a strong passion for photography and a number of its various forms.
Starting out experimenting with different subjects & camera settings Mark steadily honed his skills and understanding of what settings best suited particular subjects and conditions. Not long after Mark started dabbling in HDR, after experimenting with this process and having got such amazing results from the creative benefits of HDR photography Mark has since turned his focus to this form of photography. Mark grew up with an interest in computers and in particular photo manipulation software such as Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom and Bridge. Dabbling in Photoshop from a young age has given Mark a good grounding and set of skills to create and manipulate stunning photos with accurate results and it's this aspect of photography Mark finds most rewarding.
As an IT specialist Mark has a broad range of technical knowledge spanning further than the realm of just Photography. Audio and Visual pre/post production, Website design and development, Interactive DVD authoring are a number of areas he is also experienced in. Son of renowned Central Otago photographer Barrie Wills author of 'Central Otago: a view from the interior' and hobbyist artist Ann Wills it's not hard to see where Mark has adopted his interests from, the apple has not fallen far from the tree with photography and art running in the family genes. Marks fiancé Carolin (Caz) is also manager and lead graphic designer of local print & design company BOS so printing and publishing experience also runs in the family.
Whilst Mark thoroughly enjoys digital photography as a hobby he wishes to further his passion by sharing and collaborating with other like-minded budding or professional photographers to exchange techniques, learn new skills and more, he aims to establish a hub for sharing information, tips, training and networking through the benefits of the internet and social media, starting with this website and the likes of Facebook. A quote by a professional photographer that inspired Mark to take action with his photos goes along the lines of "You can take great photos and marvel over your accomplishment but your photos won't gain you anything just sitting on your hard drive". Share, collaborate and learn; that is the recipe that empowers people to better themselves.
Creative photography is artistic medium in which I am particularly passionate about. Having always had a strong interest in photoshop trickery and post processing techniques, creating what is often dubbed as impossible photography has been a key draw card to why I started photography in the first place. Unlike regular photography where the process is complete in a split second after the shutter has been released with impossible photography the process begins at the shutter release, by using the camera to capture multiple subjects in their normal environment the creation process then begins with Photoshop by meticulously blending two or sometimes more images to create a fictitious but visually realistic scene. The result is a visually intriguing and often hard to fathom photographic art piece sparking ones mind to ponder "How was that done?".
Portrait photography is a style I have had little involvement with but have always had a strong interest in starting. My biggest procrastinator was the lack of resources i.e a studio with professional lighting, however with my new home studio this hurtle is now a thing of the past and I am able to focus on this style in my own time. Below is a selection of work I have done featuring friends and family. I will add more projects to this portfolio over time, please feel free to leave a comment as your feedback means a lot and will be much appreciated.
“Backyard Battleground”
“Anatomy of A National Beverage”
“Jester Vendetta”
“Levitating Powder”
“Joy Ride”
“Multi-Chromatic Beer Foam”
“When Birds Attack”
“LED Ghost”
“Abstract Carpark”
“Guitar Evolution”
“Guitar Head Stock”
“End Of The Road”
“Slam Dodge”
“A Tight Bond”
“New Generations”
“A Grasp On Life”
“Mother And Son”
“Baby Mechanic”
“Tickling The Soul”
“Clown On Wheels”
“Alone With The Waves”
“Noumea Fisherman”
“Thinking Inside The Circle”
