Out of Office: Mark Jones

I got into photography way back in high school. … I just love being in the moment, catching things and slowing down. I get to see things I wouldn’t otherwise notice.

What influences [my photography] is a couple of things. It’s in part being able to take someone to a place that they never would have gone, but the other part is just being able to do something cool with it. It’s the stress relief too; it’s my outlet.

Last winter, a friend and I paddled out to this distant island at 3 a.m. with temps of 10 degrees to shoot the Milky Way and the sunrise over one of Maine’s lighthouses. ... We got back, and we posted some pictures of it. And some people said, “Mark, we would never see this unless we were crazy enough to do it.”

Shutterbugs 4 Charity [was created in 2019]. … There are over 40 different organizations we support through cash donations, but [we also give] them six-foot canvas prints of my photography, among others’, that they can auction at their galas. [Last year,] we raised about $100,000. That all goes back [to the community].

I have never been to the Canadian Rockies, so I think that’s my number one place right now for the next [photography] trip.