Photographer Mark Little is an artist whose work has been inspired by the landscapes of Scenic Highway 30A and its costal new urbanist towns. Little spent his childhood summers in Walton County before moving to the Emerald Coast from California in 2009. When asked about his fine art modern style, he responded, “I love clean lines. I don’t really like taking photographs that draw your attention to more than one thing. Clean, basic, and full of open space. I don’t want anything about my photographs to feel cluttered.”

Little has cultivated his eye in keeping his images simple in design, and yet moment driven.  His compositions and overall structures to his photographs are something that comes across natural and fluid. “For me, it’s really the minimal subject matter that I’m personally drawn to. And that’s really been my approach, clean and simple. I’m colorblind, so not sure if it has anything to do with it, but I prefer photos that have very few colors in them. Two or three at most just to keep the color clutter at a minimum. I really believe that the simplest images speak the loudest, and allow us to really breathe in what’s going on in the photograph.”

How did you get into photography?

I guess you could say I got it honest. My father is a photographer, and I spent my childhood in a dark room and painting backgrounds for portraits. It really was quite fun now that I think about it. We’d listen to Yes, Led Zepplin, King Crimson, anything really, while developing photos from his shoots. I learned a lot about how film works and what goes into making that epic photo. Turns out, it’s a lot of work.

Tell us about your background.

Well, keep in mind, growing up with the last name Little, wasn’t super easy. Especially in grade school. But hey, I held my own!  Turns out, Little isn’t English like I thought it was. It is Cherokee. My father’s family are French and Indian, and when it came time to register on whatever list the U.S. wanted them to, they were sort of weary about signing up. Go figure. Anyhow, they just shortened the name to Little. From what, I’ll never know. I like to think it’s something especially amazing, like Little Awesome Chief. But it’s probably not. So, I’ve got a lot of French and Cherokee in the ole’ veins – which I’m pretty proud of.

When did you move to Walton County?

A few times actually. I grew up down here as a summer kid. My grandfather had a place he rented in Miramar Beach, and my mom, being a school teacher, had the summer’s off. (They were actually long summer breaks back then too). So, most summer’s we’d hit the coast for a few months. But the actual moves took place in 2009. Moved from Sacramento to here, then to San Diego, then here again in 2012.

Why the ocean? And why does it not look like typical beach ocean photos? What’s the angle?

By accident! I love photography and I love being the ocean… so one day it dawned on me I should get the camera in the water. More for family photos and what not, but I really enjoyed it. Being in the water –  feeling the current, reading the break and waiting for sunlight, was just a needed connection I didn’t have on the land. I mean let’s face it, in the water, you are a guest. It’s wild out there. There are no rules. It’s just you and all the small and large fishes. And while that spooked me out a little at first, being that I shoot primarily at dawn, it really developed a style for my shots. All the power of the water and the beautiful patterns on the surface, while just underneath can be the most scary thing you’d ever see, pushed me to stay in that feeling and see what happens. And I’m totally referring to sharks. They scare me. I don’t find a lot of awe in them per say, I just find power in them. I mean, if you don’t realize you are in God’s hands out of the water, you certainly do once you are bobbing up and down in about 20 feet of water at 5am.

Your style is very modern, what got you going that direction for photos?

I love clean lines. I don’t really like taking photographs that draw your attention to more than one thing. As far as fine art goes. Plus, that’s the sort of interiors I connect with. Clean, basic, and full of open space. I don’t want anything about my photographs to feel cluttered. Pairing my work into homes is really the 2nd part of what I do. I like to think that I add to people’s spaces, allowing the photographs to blend effortlessly into a smart interior.

From the May/June 2018 Issue of The Thirty-A Review | For more information: Mark Little, www.marklittlephotos.com, markedwardlittle@gmail.com, 850-586-4057