My name is Mark Melnick and I have been taking pictures from the time I was old enough to understand how to use my parents’ Brownie camera. Currently, I live in Tampa, FL and consider myself a Fine Art photographer. When I am not in the studio, or on location, I feed my soul by gardening.

In 1980, I moved to New York City where I landed an assistant designer position for a major jewelry manufacturer. After two years, I earned a head design position designing for such companies as Tiffany & Co., Cartier, Bulgari, Neiman Marcus, and Van Cleef Arpels. But even more than the design work itself, I fell in love with photographing my award-winning pieces and gradually found myself spending more and more time behind the camera than at my workbench. That seemed like something to pay attention to, so I followed my instinct and began to photograph things other than jewelry. In retrospect, the two crafts are very much alike: both deal with light and composition, and both are fields that require attention to detail.