Mark Peterson

Contemporary Photojournalist

Screenshot of video edited by Michael Kasino

General Overview

Mark Peterson is an award winning photographer who currently works out of New York City. His photographs have been published in many national and international magazines, including, Time, ESPN Magazine, New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, and more.

Mr. Peterson is known for his use of color and his “day in the life” type projects where people are depicted as the would normally be found in their own environments. When viewing Mr. Peterson’s photographs one often feels like they are actually in the picture or at the event. The photographs often contain unique perspectives or details that highlight or reveal something more about the subject than a traditional portrait.

Career Path

Mr. Peterson grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He came to be a photographer at the age of 26. He had his first lucky break while at a Minnesota Twins baseball game. Mr. Peterson described this experience in his own words, “I was right at third base and I started talking to the photographer who was the staffer for UPI and he said he was looking for a stringer. After we talked about a few things he said to come in the next day. He gave me a camera that had gone thru Vietnam and said good luck.” He worked as a stringer, or freelancer for UPI, where he had more good fortune to be able to make mistakes and learn the craft of photography while on the job. After working at UPI, Mark began working at an alternative newspaper called City Pages. He reports that he was able to learn from the mistakes he made, once again, and refine his skills. He said, “It was funny because people thought it was my style but really I was just so bad it was the only way I could take a picture. And from my mistakes, ideas sprung.”

Era

Mark Peterson, New York Magazine

Mark Peterson, Vimeo

Era

Mark is a contemporary photographer. He is currently working on many projects for different media outlets and is represented by Redux Pictures. Some people suggest that in 2014 photojournalism is a dying craft. This is because of the rise of the “Citizen Journalist” and the Instagram Era, where average citizens are using their mobile phones to upload photographs to media outlets instantly, which in essence reduce the need for photojournalists. Mr. Peterson, however, disagrees. In an email interview he states, “I am amazed at how many great photographers there are and how passionate they are. A lot of people are crying that photojournalism is dead or dying, but I see more great work now, more than ever. There is more opportunity to see it. The web and web magazine have brought stories to light that in the past wouldn’t have been seen. In the past there were fewer outlets and that limited the number of photographs and stories that could be seen. It is a great time for photojournalism.”

Motivation

Mark Peterson, Do1thing

Motivation

Mr. Peterson is motivated both internally and by his subjects. He wants to do his best and to take photographs that he finds meaningful for himself. He also strives to be fair to his subjects that are letting him into their lives. He does not want to fail them. An example of this was discussed during a telephone interview. Mr. Peterson was on assignment in Atlanta photographing suburban poverty. He remarked that he had met and photographed people who were in extremely difficult positions in life and were really struggling. They trusted him to photograph them honestly and fairly.

Technology

On a typical day Mr. Peterson uses the following equipment:

Cannon 5D Mark III (DSLR) for still photographs, Cannon 70D for video, 24mm Lens for the depth of field it gives to a picture, 24mm-105mm Zoom Lens, Cannon 600 Flash and 300 Speedlite transmitter

Alan Cumming, Instagram

Ethics

The feelings that this image creates are those of shock and outrage. Of course, that is from my point of view. Others may have been proud of this photograph. In fact, I know from speaking with Mr. Peterson that her parents were proud of this photograph. The image od a small girl with a weapon is startling. The background with the guns hanging on the wall provides context for this photograph. This is a simple composition where the main subject is readily discernable. I find the adult arm on the right to be interesting, it’s as if she is being encouraged by someone.

Mark Peterson, Instagram, @markpetersonpixs

Ethics

Mr. Peterson tries to put himself in the place of his subjects. He tries to make sure that if he were the subject of the photograph, he would feel that it was an honest representation of the moment that was transpiring. According to Mr. Peterson, “It’s always good to realize the implications of the photographs you take.” Another example of an ethical dilemma that Mr. Peterson has faced came to light in a telephone interview. He explained, “I was at the NRA Convention this weekend working for MSNBC. The pictures that were posted got reactions both ways. One picture I took was of a four year old girl posing for her parents with an assault rifle as they took a picture. After I took it, I asked the parents if it was alright if I published the pictures. They said yes, that they were proud to have their daughter holding the rifle. I asked them three times while I got their name and daughter’s name, and they said yes each time. The photograph ran and there are comments that say how horrible it is and other comments that say it is great that she has a gun in her hands.”

Bias

In this image, shadows are used to highlight the subject’s face and to make her look garish. The high contrast helps to bring out the various textures on her face and all the wrinkles in her neck, making her look unflattering. The photograph in and of itself is sort of abstract, because it is impossible to tell what is going on while this photograph is taken. When I saw this image, my first thought was that it accurately represented her loud, opinionated (some might say obnoxious) manner very appropriately.

Mark Peterson, Bag News

Bias

Mr. Peterson’s work reflects his strong opinions. For example, he is currently working on a series he calls “Politics in Black and White”. The images in this series are black and white and are processed through an iPhone App to give them a theatrical look.

Impact

Mark Peterson, markpetersonpixs

Mark Peterson, markpetersonpixs

Impact

Mr. Peterson’s photographs have been widely published in print and online media. The images represent various truths about society today. The impact on society is that of education. His photographs help to educate the public about issues, or events. Even though the images represent the photographer’s bias and strong opinions, it provides a piece of a story that the public may integrate with their previous personal experiences in order to come to a better personal understanding of issues and society as a whole.

Viewpoints

The subject’s expression is one of confusion and humiliation. The light that is used in the image is fairly harsh, as if the spotlight is on him, in an unfavorable manner. The depth of field allows for greater context, as the people in the background, as well as a couple of buildings is visible and clear.

Mark Peterson, Lightbox

Viewpoints

The photographs that Mr. Peterson takes can be perceived in many different ways. They can often be looked at as cruel or funny, depending on the bias of the observer. His series on charity benefits in NYC is an example of this. People either laughed at the pictures or were upset by them.

Viewpoints

The use of lines in this image helps to capture the viewer’s attention in the bottom right corner and draw it upwards and to the left, diagonally. These lines, coupled with the laughter hint that there is an absurd situation at hand. The subjects are clear and take up most of the frame. The use of color as opposed to black and white gives the photograph a contemporary feel. There seems to be a short exposure time, possibly with a flash to freeze the motion of the raucous laughter that was occurring at this high society event.

Mark Peterson, markpetersonpixs

Personal Connection

The way that Mr. Peterson began his career in photography reminds me of way I came to choose my Interdisciplinary concentration areas for my current degree program. I chose the Special Education part of my concentration because I believed that it would be helpful in learning how to best educate diverse populations of students. Like Mr. Peterson finding his first job by chance while attending a professional baseball game, I came to the Creative Arts Education concentration by chance. During my Master’s program, one of the electives I took was Celebrating Diversity through the Arts. This course showed me how creative arts could be fun and innovative in the classroom. Furthermore, the courses would be interesting, and not like standard education classes.

Sources

1) Email interview with Mark Peterson, April 27,2014

2) Telephone interview with Mark Peterson, April 30, 2014

3) http://www.reduxpictures.com/Photographer/Mark-Peterson/bio

4) http://vimeo.com/8695610

5) http://www.reduxpictures.com/Blog/category/Mark-Peterson

6) http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/national-rifle-association-nra-convention-draws-gun-lovers-and-vote-seekers

7) http://lightbox.time.com/2014/04/04/lbff-mark-peterson-on-the-power-of-social-media-and-political-satire/#1

8) http://www.bagnewsnotes.com/2013/10/cruz-palin-and-the-clown-show-courtesy-of-photographer-mark-peterson/

9) http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/politics-in-black-and-white/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

10) http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/magazine/47-hour-train-ride.html