Mark Woods, photographer and cinematographer, speaks about his love of the stand-alone image at the 2026 Chico Review.

About this episode

Mark Woods discusses his passion for the stand-alone image and his extensive career in photography and cinematography.

2026 Chico Attendees Series Mark Woods, photographer and cinematographer, speaks about his love of the stand-alone image. Mark Woods is a fine art black & white still photographer and commercial cinematographer raised in a California family deeply rooted in photography and film. His father operated a portrait studio in Hollywood, while his grandfather famously purchased and released the film Reefer Madness. Growing up surrounded by cameras, film, and darkrooms would later shape Woods’ lifelong visual career. Woods discovered his passion for image-making while attending the University of California, Berkeley in 1968, where he studied Photo Ethnographic Anthropology. During his years at Berkeley, he became known for creating powerful street photography and formal documentary imagery. By the time he graduated in 1971, Woods had become the university’s preferred photographer for student activities, jazz festivals, and campus publications, often credited as Francis Woods. After returning to Hollywood, Woods worked extensively in both still photography and motion picture production. He opened a still photography studio at Columbia Studios, producing advertising imagery before…

People in this episode

Host: Michael Chovan-Dalton

Guest: Mark Woods

Topics covered

• photography
• cinematography
• art
• documentary
• image-making

Keywords

• photographer
• cinematographer
• black & white
• street photography
• documentary
• commercials
• film

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of California, Berkeley, Columbia Studios

Books & works: Reefer Madness

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