Mark Bowie grew up in Glens Falls, NY. He spent several entire summers camping with his family in the Adirondacks. "From the time I was about six through my college years we would rent our house to entertainers from the New York City area who performed at the Lake George Opera Festival in Queensbury," he explains. "The family would pack tents and trailer and go camping for the summer. My father would commute back and forth to work in Glens Falls. Since campers are only allowed to stay at a state campground for two weeks at a time, we shuffled from one to another. It was a wonderful life spent in the woods and on the water."

During high school and college summers, Mark worked as a photographic assistant for his father, Everett, and grandfather, Richard Dean, at Dean Color, professional photographers specializing in Adirondack post cards and other paper products, as well as commercial photography. "I marketed post cards, photo books, placemats and other items to the retail tourist trade in the Adirondack and Saratoga regions. I also helped photograph graduations, family reunions, and resorts. But I hadn't yet seriously taken up nature photography." I went to college to study earth sciences.

Mark graduated from the State University of New York at Brockport with a B.S. degree in geology and the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology with a Masters degree in geology. He worked in California as a geologist, water quality specialist and a hazardous waste disposal specialist before turning to photography as a business. "I'm essentially a self-taught photographer. I absorbed nature photography techniques by immersing myself in photo books and magazines, attending seminars, and by trial and error in the field." And my father and grandfather have always been valuable resources on the business side of photography.

In 1994, Mark established Outdoor Images as a freelance photographer and writer specializing in nature and recreation. He shoots 35mm, medium, large and panoramic formats. When his "Wild Iris and Crescent Moon" won Adirondack Life magazine’s Grand Prize in its 2nd Annual Photography Contest, it launched his Adirondack photography career. "This photograph is the most rewarding I've yet taken. It captures the essence of the Adirondacks, a unique landscape of mountains, woods and water created by time immemorial – hopefully one forever wild. It achieves the ultimate goal of my photography -- to create meaningful images with an emotional message."

Mark is a frequent contributor to Adirondack Life and over a dozen of his images have appeared on the cover. The magazine featured photographic essays of his work in their June 1999 and December 2000 issues and one of his images graced the cover of their Year 2000 calendar. He has written articles on the Adirondacks’ state campgrounds, backpacking and photographing the mountains around Lake George, and scenic backwoods drives. His imagery has also appeared on the covers of The Conservationist and Adirondack Traveler magazines, and he is a frequent contributor to The Chronicle newspaper. His work also appears as fine art prints, on posters, post cards, brochures, books and the Internet across the country.

The Sierra Club published one of his images on the front cover of their 2001 Engagement Calendar. His "Sunrise Over Bryce Canyon Amphitheater" is published as a large format poster by Portal Publications and distributed nationwide. Mark has also published a line of his own posters.

Mark has produced several multimedia presentations on the Adirondacks. He is a much sought-after speaker and workshop leader. He leads photo tours and teaches workshops on digital and landscape photography.

Mark's first coffee table book, Adirondack Waters: Spirit of the Mountains is a landmark regional publication and his second, In Stoddard's Footsteps: The Adirondacks Then & Now is sure to garner critical acclaim. His third, The Adirondacks: In Celebration of the Seasons is currently in production.

Mark lives in Pittsfield, Massachusetts with his wife, Rushelle.