Mark Citret (b. 1949) grew up in San Francisco and began photographing in 1968. He received both his BA and MA in Art from San Francisco State University. From 1970–1973, Mark assisted Ansel Adams at his acclaimed Yosemite Workshops, working with Adams in the darkroom as well as in the field.  In the mid to late 1980s he produced a large body of work titled, Unnatural Wonders, which is his personal survey of architecture in the national parks. He spent four years, 1990 to 1993, photographing Coastside Plant, a massive construction site in the southwest corner of San Francisco. Since he moved to his current home in Daly City, CA in 1986, he has been photographing the play of ocean and sky from the cliff behind his house.

He taught photography for both UC Santa Cruz. and UC Berkeley Extensions for more than 20 years and has been “Artist in Residence” in Yosemite National Park (2016), and Zion National Park (2019). He has also given lectures and workshops at organizations such as the Center for Photography at Woodstock, the Ansel Adams Gallery, and Santa Fe Workshops. His work is represented in museums including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the University of Arizona’s Center for Creative Photography, and the Monterey Museum of Art. His books include Halcott Center: A Catskill Mountain Valley, with an introduction by Ansel Adams; Along The Way, with an introduction by Ruth Bernhard; and Parallel Landscapes, with an introduction by Al Weber.

Robel Fessehatzion is a self-taught African American photographer based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Influenced by his upbringing near the foothills of the northern Sierra, his work focuses on the natural environment and identity. His creative research seeks to transform the landscape into a place of belonging, by highlighting the harmony between existing elements while thoughtfully incorporating natural light and color within the frame.

Fessehatzion’s series Crossing The Boundary Maintenance utilizes self-portraiture as way to explore and discover his own identity and belonging in the natural landscape, while the series Reclamation uses visual imagery to challenge perceptions of who belongs in the United States national parks, particularly Yosemite, given its connection to the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers. It Reclamation highlights how members of the African Diaspora are confronting both historic and nuanced forms of discrimination. By exploring, seeking, and reestablishing connections with nature, they assert their rightful place in this landscape and reclaim their relationship with the land.