National Geographic Spectacle

Mark Thiessen has been a photographer with National Geographic since 1990 and on staff since 1997. He is widely published in National Geographic magazine, National Geographic Adventure, and National Geographic Traveler. In 1996, Thiessen began a personal photography project on wildland firefighters that took him to the front lines of wildfires every summer. To better understand the world of this little-known subculture, he became a certified wildland firefigheter. His photographs for the National Geographic cover story "Under Fire: Why the West Is Burning" earned first-place recognition by Pictures of the Year International. Thiessen also directs the National Geographic photo studio and was featured in Out There, a series aired on the National Geographic Channel. He lives in Washington, D.C.