Fire & Ice Photography


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Biography

The Photographer
Award-winning photographer Mark Dornblaser has published his images in national magazines such as Discover and Gourmet. In the spring of 1998 he was Artist-in-Residence at Badlands National Park. He has exhibited his work in galleries in New York and Connecticut. Currently, his series "Himalayan Light" is on display at the National Video Center in New York City. He is represented in New England by Boston Corporate Art.

Clients Include:
Discover Magazine
Gourmet Magazine
National Park Service
United States Geological Survey
National Science Foundation
The Ecosystems Center, Woods Hole, MA
The Calder Center, Fordham University, NY
Mountain Travel*Sobek
International Thomson, London
EIF Group, Needham, MA

Mark is also a published travel writer, and his stories on Antarctica, Bryce National Park, and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park have been published in The Boston Globe and Cape Cod Times. Read articles and journal excerpts from other adventures.

Artist Statement

My love of outdoor photography began at a very early age. My parents believed that seeing the country should be an integral part of our education. I photographed our family adventures as we camped and backpacked through all 50 states. I complemented these experiences in the world outdoors with my formal education, earning degrees in Environmental Studies and Oceanography.

As an ecologist, I see many parallels between the study of natural ecosystems and the photography of these same landscapes.

In ecosystem research, you have to approach the world on several different levels. To see the big picture, you need to investigate the various spatial and temporal scales on which natural processes occur. In photography, through our use of composition, light, point of view, aperture, and shutter speed, we are doing the same thing, exploring various parts of our visual world in order to better understand the whole.
My quest has taken me from Alaska to Antarctica, from Africa to Australia, in order to preserve on film the grand landscapes that are in danger of succumbing to man's encroachment. I am drawn to the juxtaposition of strength and delicacy that I see in the canyons, monoliths, arches, and glaciers of the world. So formidable and imposing on the surface, one must realize that they are transient features on our ever-changing earth. Some erode slowly to our perception, on geologic time scales. Others are disintegrating rapidly, as unnatural processes take over.
I have found that the native peoples of the world, be they Navajo, Sherpa, or Aborigine, have a tremendous connection to the land, living in harmony with it rather than striving to control, or exploit it. I believe we have much to learn from these ancient cultures.