Mark Bauer, NiSi UK Ambassador
Mark Bauer is an award-winning landscape photographer, best known for his evocative images of the south west of England, although his work takes him to inspiring locations across the UK and beyond. His images have been used in books, magazines, calendars and advertising campaigns.
He is a well-known photography author, having written eight books and countless articles for the UK photographic press. He is also an experienced tutor and workshop leader, and co-founder (with Ross Hoddinott) of Dawn 2 Dusk Photography, one of the UK’s best-known photography workshop companies.
Mark’s Gear Bag
Every photographer develops a personal kit over time, choosing tools that truly support their creative vision. Let’s take a look inside Mark’s bag to discover the equipment he relies on to turn ideas into images and bring his photographic vision to life.
Cameras
- Nikon Z8
- Nikon Z7 II
Lenses
- Nikon 14-30mm
- Nikon 24-120mm
- Nikon 100-400mm
- Nikon 24-200mm
Filters
- NiSi JetMag Pro filter system
Bags
- Shimoda Action X40
Tripods and Tripods Heads
- Benro Mammoth
- Benro GD36PT hybrid geared head
Are you looking to embark on an extraordinary journey into the world of landscape and nature photography?
Mark Bauer interview
NiSi: What got you into photography?
Mark: I spent a few years living and working abroad in the 90s and started taking photos to document my surroundings and experiences. I realised they were a bit rubbish and so started reading books and magazine articles to help me improve my photography – and it snowballed from there.
NiSi: Talk us through your favourite shot with NiSi filters
Mark: Venice looks incredibly atmospheric in the fog and for this shot, I was shooting along the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge. It was the middle of the day and the water was extremely busy, with a constant stream of boats going past. I knew that I’d need an exposure time of a few minutes to blur out the movement, so I stacked the 10 stop and 3 stop JetMag ND filters and was able to extend the shutter speed to four minutes. Even with the two filters stacked, the colours were completely neutral, although I opted to convert the image to mono as it suited the mood better.
NiSi: What is your dream location to photograph?
Mark: I’m lucky enough to have visited and photographed some amazing locations and although there are one or two places I’d still love to visit, I find myself returning to Venice again and again. It’s just mesmerising, I always find something new to shoot, and it doesn’t seem to matter what the weather is doing.
NiSi: Every photographer has that one day when everything went wrong – tell us about yours
Mark: I lived in Milan for a couple of years in the 1990s. One winter, I was spending a few days in Venice. At the time, Woody Allen’s relationship with Soon-Yi Previn (the adopted daughter of his long-term partner, Mia Farrow) had just become public and they were also in Venice at the time, being hounded by the press. I was standing on the Accademia Bridge, shooting the classic view of the Grand Canal, when I saw Allen and Previn starting to climb the steps up the bridge, followed by a pack of press photographers. I took my camera off the tripod, framed the shot, focused and… then decided not to shoot. I’m not a paparazzo, and I couldn’t bear being so intrusive. Morally, I know it was the right thing to do, but I still wonder about how much money I missed out on. Back then, a shot like that, if syndicated, could have made a small fortune.
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Mark’s photo selection
