I am Mark Siek and I am a professional photographer. That is what I do… I photograph things.
How did I become a photographer and why did I end up living in Omaha? Most of the story follows.
I had spent many years in the IT world and had to find something new to do. I had always had a strong desire to become a photographer and would have been one had my mother allowed me to have a darkroom in our house when I was in middle school. She didn’t and I drifted away from photography and the fire within smoldered. However, the embers never extinguished. The fire roared to life after I left the realm of computers because the company I was working for was sold and I needed something to do. Photography!
After photographing homes in the Northern Virginia area for many years, I grew tired of the daily grind, the non stop rat race and keeping up with the Jones’s. My family and I decided to get out while we still had our wits about us and head to a less hurried way of life. After talking about where each of us preferred not to relocate to and start our new lives, we looked at a map. The city that was pretty much dead center of our zone of possibilities was Omaha, Nebraska. The Big “O” as I call it. We flew out one day in January several years ago and looked around. It was decided that Omaha would be our new home.
I spent some time decompressing and getting acclimated. Then it was time to find something to occupy my time. I made the rounds talking to many Realtors and explaining to them why they should utilize my services to photograph their home listings. Not one was interested. Rejected, shot down, turned away time and time again. I put aside my hopes of being Omaha’s Real Estate Photographer and switched disciplines to portrait photography. About 5 years later I wrote an entry in my blog that changed things dramatically for me.
I wrote about Realtors taking their own pictures for their listings and how they insist that home sellers use a professional (a Realtor) when selling but they don’t use a pro real estate photographer to photograph the homes they represent. I received lots of comments from Realtors, home sellers, homebuyers and just plain bystanders regarding my blog post. I also received many inquiries from individuals wanting to retain my services. Long story short, I got back into the real estate photography business.
Omaha Real Estate Photography is the division of Midwest Digital Imaging that handles the photographing of residential and commercial real estate. I am the owner and principal photographer of Midwest Digital Imaging (MWDI). Omaha Real Estate Photography was created specifically for the real estate and property rental market. My background in all levels of residential photography translates easily to the real estate and property rental world.
In November of 2011 Omaha Real Estate Photography expanded coverage to include Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Mark