Many years ago, I received a Bachelor of Arts in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard College and a Masters of Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. While subsequently working in architecture, I used photography to study buildings, details, and open places that make up our architectural environment.

At first, I focused on creating photographic record of buildings for my reference, but soon I found myself drawn to the evocative and romantic qualities of my subjects. I realized that I could read the old, textured stonework of a Castilian castle or the faded dignity of a crumbling ancient wall like some well-worn palimpsest daring me to uncover its secret story. It has taken me over thirty years to understand that this, not the architecture itself, was my real subject.

Nothing delights me more than to discover and capture the stories that lie hidden in the deep crevices of a brick wall or a care-worn face. With my photographs, I try to pull the viewer into that story. Exactly how you understand that story isn't so important. I simply ask that you enter the space they describe and discover something for yourself.

Perhaps I am creating architecture, after all.

Thank you for stopping by. You can see more of my work by www.markforte.com. There you will find a wide range of images by subject. If anything there captures your fancy, please feel free to make a request three this Etsy site.

Also, my books, "Duotones, Color & Transformations", "Polychromes", and "Thessaloniki - Istanbul" will give you detailed looks into different aspects of my work. They are all available in the Books section of my Etsy shop, or directly through blurb.com (http://www.blurb.com/user/lightscribe).