We had the good fortune of connecting with Mark Carter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mark , can you tell us about an impactful book you’ve read and why you liked it or what impact it had on you?
I love a good story, especially experiences that describe one’s pursuit of meaning and reveal in the process, the resilience, creativity, determination, and triumph of the human spirit. Christian Beamish’s book, “The Voyage of the Cormorant,” is all that and more. I first encountered “The Voyage” after it was released in 2012 and have read it multiple times since. Written autobiographically, Beamish recounts his adventure of solo sailing for 65 days along the coast of Baja in his handmade 18-foot Shetland Isle beach boat. Weathering storms, tides, and unexpected situations, he documents his encounters of pristine surf, human kindness, and the daunting, yet rewarding beauty of solitude. Having studied philosophy, the humanities, and a healthy diet of Thoreau, Emmerson, and Muir, I am drawn to Christian Beamish’s words and stories as an external metaphor for the internal journey of knowing the True Self. Written so well, “The Voyage of the Cormorant” gives me the universal permission to see myself in Beamish’s adventure memoir and constantly encourages me to leave the safety of familiar ports, to explore the wild beauty of the unknown. In short, Beamish reminds me of Sir Francis Drake’s famous prayer: Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, To venture on wider seas Where storms will show your mastery; Where losing sight of land, We shall find the stars. We ask You to push back The horizons of our hopes; And to push into the future In strength, courage, hope, and love.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As an artist, my passion is to create experiences that has capacity to evoke change; subtle, simple, significant, and sacred change. I’m not interested in dictating what that process looks like for someone; just curating the encounter. Sometimes this looks like a photographic project, other times it’s a yoga class or sound healing event, and other times it’s a lecture or a blog that I wrote. I don’t want to hem myself into one form or expression; I want my passion to fuel the motivation for a particular medium, and I want my intention for freedom to fuel the hospitality for anyone and everyone to enter into that experience, that encounter.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love San Diego and southern California. Being nature-minded, I would make sure that a visitor’s encounter of this beautiful place would include some time in the ocean – a kayak adventure in La Jolla, or a surf along Sunset Cliffs. Maybe a hike in Torrey Pines, or if the season permitted, catch the flower fields in Carlsbad. Lunch would include fresh seafood at Mitch’s on Shelter Island with a walk around Cabrillo National Momentum to see the cityscape and pay homage to the Nation’s fallen at Fort Rosecrans Cemetery. Dinner would indulge in the flare and heritage of Little Italy, and the night would close out with a stroll amidst the lights and architecture of Balboa Park.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I first and foremost dedicate my success and entrepreneurial spirit to my parents. For nearly 50 years, they have modeled the creativity, flexibility, raw determination, and commitment that it takes to try something new, and to reimagine it when it needs to change. On top of that, my influencers include a cadre of mentors, artists, and misfits that see, speak, and dream what others fail to imagine.

Website: http://www.mcphoto.me/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mcphoto_and_yoga/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-carter-san-diego-92037/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.carter.1800721

Image Credits
All images and rights owned and copyrighted by MC Photography.