Mark Jenkinson

Don't you hate it when photographers and writers write their own bios in the third person? I don't have a biographer or a publicity agent, it's just me.

I have often described my photography career as "accidental". I never set out in earnest to become a professional photographer. My professional career really began with a solo exhibition of my artwork; at the time my photographs were primarily interiors of sex clubs, churches, and other hidden interiors. From that exhibition I got an assignment from Vogue to shoot still lives of jewelry, and an annual report for Chase Manhattan; projects I was completely unqualified for. I then proceeded to get other assignments that I was equally unqualified for; cars, travel, portraits, fashion, more annual reports, everything. ournal and Unlimited, etc.

My writing career was another accident. I was racing motorcycles as a hobby when Men's Journal called asking if I'd shoot someone else doing a first-person participatory piece on the sport. The only problem was that they couldn't find a writer willing to try it, so they asked me if I'd take a crack at writing. It was another thing I was totally unqualified for so of course I did it anyway. I have been writing 5-10 stories a year since then, including two regular motorcycle test columns. I enjoy it fully since it's always the writer who gets strapped into the racecar, or gets to jump out of the airplane while the photographer watches. The hard part was figuring out how to shoot while I'm writing the story and driving the racecar (trade secret: I control the cameras by remote)

So far I've written two books on photography: Portrait Photography Course, a university level textbook on portraiture and lighting and CIG Photography Essentials, a beginners guide to the basics of photography. Writing both books was lots of fun. The process makes you challenge everything you take for granted, it's completely reinvigorated my work as a photographer.

I'm shooting tons of video these days and I'm currently creating an "E" text book series of videos on the history of physics and the metaphysical implications of light and seeing.

Finally, I teach in the Photography and Imaging Department at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. My students perplex, annoy, and inspire me daily. I retaliate by feeding on the fertile marrow of their youthful enthusiasm.

Mark Jenkinson 2011

www.markjenkinsonphoto.com