The Sunday interview: 5 questions for Mark Foard

Today I will present Mark Foard the author of Mark’s Substack. Mark is a Toronto-based amateur photographer and art enthusiast.

1. Why photography?

I’m a very visual, right-hand side of the brain kind of person. Over the years I’ve tried several different creative outlets but nothing has resonated with me in the same way that photography has.

I’m self taught and photography is just a hobby for me, a fun, fulfilling, creative outlet that keeps my mind and body active.

2. What is your favourite gear? (camera, lens)

I don’t really have a particular favourite. I have three cameras (Nikon Z6, Olympus OMD-EM5 mkii and my iPhone) plus a selection of lenses for the Nikon (17-28mm f2.8, 24-70mm f4, 70-300mm and 50mm f1.8) and the Oly (20mm f1.7, 60mm macro, 75-300mm ). I like to keep things simple so usually just go out with one camera and one, occasionally two, lenses. The combinations depend on what I’m hoping to photograph.

3. What are your favourite subjects to photograph?

Generally, I’lI photograph anything if it looks interesting enough but animals, bugs, trees, plants etc. were among the first things I learned to photograph and I still get a lot of enjoyment photographing them. Also, having spent most of my life living and working in large cities, photographing urban environments (street photography, architecture etc.) is very satisfying. Occasionally, if I’m in the right location and mood, I’ll photograph landscapes but that’s not very often. However, when it comes to human portrait photography, I don’t even bother. I’m completely useless at it and I’m in awe of people who can capture the essence of a person through a photograph. I just don’t seem to have the eye for it. However, I really like taking animal portraits. Maybe I just need to imagine a human subject is a gorilla.

4. Can you name a few of your favourite photographers?

There are so many I could mention but these are the ones that immediately came to mind when I first read this question: David Bailey, Don McCullin, Lee Miller, Sebastião Salgado, Elliot Erwitt, Sally Mann, David Hockney and Alan Schaller.

5. What can Substack community expect from you/your publication in the future?

Good question! I’m not entirely sure myself. I’ve only been posting on here since the beginning of 2024 so feel like I’m still figuring things out. I am considering a revamp of my Substack profile (“Mark’s Substack” is too generic and maybe I’ll add a proper profile picture) and I’m also interested in doing some collaborations, either with other photographers or with writers but I haven’t really thought it through yet. I recently started to dabble with 35mm film again so you can expect some occasional posts about that journey. Stay tuned…..

Substack is currently my only active form of social media and I’m really enjoying the community here. I originally joined hoping to find inspiration and new ideas and I haven’t been disappointed. It’s been a very positive experience.