Jack of all trades focuses on people
NEW CASTLE - “The Jack of all trades” is what Jack Guthrie called his son Mark way back when they were in business in Salem refinishing floors and antique furniture in a shop on College Avenue.
Today Mark has added many things to his repertoire including professional photography, computer repair and refurbishing and developing and maintaining websites.
"Window Shopping" is the title of this image photographer Mark Guthrie of DeLuca Photography took in downtown Roanoke.
Guthrie said he first became interested in photography when he was in 4-H Club in fourth grade. “Dad had an old Brownie camera he let me use,” Guthrie recalled. Since then he has come a long ways, moving up to the 35 mm cameras and right on into the world of digital photography.
“Once I got hooked on digital photography I never looked back,” he said. “It’s great. I can take a picture and 5 minutes later can e-mail it anywhere in the world.”
Guthrie works from a small studio, DeLuca Photography, in his home in New Castle where he is set up to photograph wedding pictures, senior photographs and portfolios and even glamour shots.
“Because I work at home and eliminate the middle man I can do photo packages for a whole lot less than most professional studios,” he explained.
Over the years Guthrie has honed both his photography and computer skills to the point he says, “I can make anybody look like a model.”
That, of course, is due in a large part to the sophisticated computer software on the market today. The possibilities are endless. There is software that can be used to make an ordinary photograph look as though it has been done in oils on a canvas or even turn it into an artist’s sketch.
“I always try to be creative when I am doing a photo shoot,” Guthrie said. I like to offer my customers a variety of choices.”
He attributes his professional photography skills in part to the experience he gained working as a photographer for TCA Studios that used to be in the K-Mart Stores back in the 1980s.
“I worked for them for five years doing portraits which could be challenging at times,” he said. He has done some sports photography and still life but he says his main focus is on people.
Being a person that has to be doing something all the time, when he isn’t working with the camera he is busy on the computer.
“I’ve been working with computers since 1982,” Guthrie said recalling the green monitor screens that first came out and the Doss operating system.
“I’ve taken many of them apart to see how they work and have ended up refurbishing and upgrading a lot of them.”
Now Guthrie wants to put a lot of that experience toward a good cause. He would like to put computers in the hands of children whose families can’t afford to buy one. He is presently collecting donated laptops and desk top computers not more than five years old to refurbish for someone who really needs it.
Although it has taken Guthrie many years to realize his capabilities were actually gifts from God, he now can say, “I give God praise for all the talents He has blessed me with.”
On Feb. 1 Guthrie will hold a photo editing workshop at his home from 9 a.m. until everyone gets the information they want. “So the hours are flexible depending on the size of the class,” Guthrie stated. Included in the workshop will be downloading photos from a camera and e-mailing them, in addition to everything a beginner needs to know about color correction, cropping, sizing, etc. The cost is $20.
Guthrie lives in New Castle with his wife Shirley and two daughters – Alyx, who is a senior at Craig County High School, and Lori, a freshman.
He can be reached at 540 864-6889 or via e-mail at FotografiaDeLuca@live.com. To check out some of his creative photography and recent work, go to his website at www.delucaphotography.com.web.
