Mark Gray

Mark Gray (born 20 February 1981) is a self-taught photographer from Melbourne, Australia. Best known for his panoramic photographs of Australian and International landscapes.
Some notable pieces include ‘Craig’s Hut’ and ‘Reef Dreaming’. His signature style of using natural light to capture vibrant colours has led him to become one of Australia’s most acclaimed photographers.

Gray was born in Melbourne, Australia to parents of Latvian, English and Irish heritage. In his teens he painted graffiti along railway lines and vacant walls in Melbourne. While frowned upon, the graffiti experience informed his knowledge of colour, composition and artistic technique.

After completing a diploma of multimedia at Swinburne University of Technology in Wantirna at the age of 19, Gray commenced full-time work as a junior web designer, and continued in this for seven years.

In 2005, Gray established his first business, ‘Australian Landscapes’, based on a small portfolio of photographic prints, with pieces bought by an uncle and a next-door neighbour. The success of the company rapidly grew, and soon changed to Mark Gray Fine Art Landscape Photography. Gray releases the majority of his artwork as collectible pieces, some selling for up to $30,000 to private and corporate buyers. His photographs are also available in retail merchandise such as calendars and jigsaw puzzles. The first Mark Gray Gallery was established in 2011 in New South Wales’ seaside town of Merimbula. One year later, a second gallery was opened in Mornington, Victoria.

Gray also conducts workshops in photography in Australia and internationally. The workshops cover topics such as composition, lighting and understanding photographic equipment.

On the 4th April 2012, Gray’s photographs, ‘Craig’s Hut’ and ‘Reef Dreaming’, appeared on Nine Network’s Mornings, program to showcase Australia’s top five views, which were voted by a panel of judges from Australian Traveller Magazine.

Gray is known for his ability to capture natural light in his photographs. To do this, Gray revisits the same location repeatedly to find the desired light conditions. Gray has frequented some of these areas up to 20 times in order to capture the best possible light available – in what he refers to as the magic hour’. Some photographs displayed in his galleries have taken years to capture. The iconic photograph of ‘Craig’s Hut’ took three years of repeated visits to Victoria’s Mt. Stirling to capture what Gray originally conceptualised.

• FMP Excellence in Business Awards, Mark Gray Gallery, finalist and winner, 2014IPA, ‘Shadowland’, honourable mention, 2014
• International Garden Photographer of the Year, ‘Mystic Forest’, first place and category winner, 2014
• EPSON International Panoramic Awards, winner of seven bronze awards, 2014
• International Loupe Awards, winner of two silver awards and 26 bronze awards, 2012
• CAA, winner of three silver awards and five bronze awards, 2012
• IPA, honourable mentions, 2012
• EPSON International Panoramic Awards, winner of gold award for ‘Reef Dreaming’, winner of one silver award and 13 bronze awards, 2012
• EPSON International Panoramic Awards, winner of two silver awards and six bronze awards, 2011
• International Loupe Awards, winner of one silver award and five bronze awards, 2011
• International Loupe Awards – Medium Format, winner of three silver awards and five bronze awards, 2011
• EPSON International Panoramic Awards, winner of five bronze awards, 2010
• International Aperture Awards, winner of two silver awards and one bronze award, 2010
• CIWEM’s Environmental Photographer of the Year, ‘Reef Dreaming’ finalist, 2010

• "FMP Excellence in Business Awards". Frankston City Council. 
• "International Garden Photographer of the Year: Winning photos of nature's beauty". BBC. 
• "International Garden Photographer of the Year 2015". The Guardian. 
• "Epson International Pano Awards 2015". Photography Blog. 
• "Call for entries: The Epson International Pano Awards 2015". Manila Bulletin. 
• "HONORABLE MENTION GALLERY PROFESSIONAL". Retrieved 30 September 2015. 
• "Top 50 placing images of the Medium Format Fine Art Prize Category in the 2011 Medium Awards". 
• "23rd, Landscape". 
• "29th, Landscape". 
• "Mark Gray, Australia". Photoawards.com.