Mark Hatasaka

At Palo Alto Baylands, California

Growing up in Palo Alto, California, Mark Hatasaka gained an early appreciation of nature by roaming the creeks, fields, hills, and estuaries surrounding San Francisco Bay. He began photographing this natural splendor at age 10, built his first darkroom at age 12, started a freelance photography/custom printing/graphic design business in high school, and published a newsletter for the computerized typesetting trade while attending U.C. Berkeley in the late 1970's.

While publishing the newsletter, Mark purchased one of the first microcomputers on the market, and this set in motion a career in computer engineering. Shortly after graduation, Mark founded an engineering consulting business which he successfully ran for more than 20 years. His high-tech clients ranged from fortune 100 giants to the smallest of start-ups. This diversity allowed him to work on some of the most technically advanced and challenging projects in Silicon Valley.

Thundercloud Over Diamond Mesa, Sierra Nevada
August 1999

Ever the photographer, in August 1999, Mark purchased his first digicam, a Nikon Coolpix 950. quickly followed by a Nikon D1 digital SLR in February 2000. Since that time, Mark's original loves of nature, photography, writing, and publishing have come full circle, merged with his extensive computer expertise, and produced a unique career path encompassing both art and technology.

In 2003, Mark authored his first book, Digital Nature Photography, followed in 2004 by Mark Hatasaka's Digital Landscape Photography. The books have rapidly gained wide acclaim both for their innovative, effective instruction and spectacularly inspirational photography.

In 2005, Mark added the title "Instructor" to his resume, teaching community education classes on digital nature photography and digital darkroom techniques.

Also in 2005, after a nearly forty-year hiatus, Mark resumed the study of music. He now composes and performs all accompanying music in his multimedia presentations.