About Us
Mark and Melinda Johnson started Ironstring Communications in the late 1980s while writing and shooting photos for magazines such as VeloNews and AMC Outdoors. At the time they lived in Boston, where Mark was completing his PhD in English literature at Boston University.
Meanwhile, Melinda (here on France's Col de Sarenne) had just completed her MS in physical therapy from BU. Melinda also has a BS in physiology from the University of California, Davis.
Mark also has a BA in English and American literature from UC San Diego. He studied Spanish lit at the University of Seville and French at the University of Grenoble. Mark's first photo assignment was shooting images for San Diego School District as a ninth grader at Pacific Beach Junior High.
Mark also spent ten years as a software product manager and behavioral science researcher. He studied how humans respond to data, composition and form. Then he turned that understanding into product demand.
Both Mark and Melinda have presented in the U.S. and abroad on subjects as diverse as cycling physiology, product design, photography, effective writing, the psychology of consumer problem solving, and web usability.
Mark and Melinda are category two road cyclists and have bicycled across the United States twice. Both times involved a lot of camping gear hanging off the bike, but those trips were easier than the time Mark did an Ironman distance triathlon. Melinda's current passion is half-marathons (six in 2010).
Favorite surf spot? This photo shows why it's Jefferys Bay, South Africa.
Our work has been awarded by the Society of Professional Journalists, the American Society of Media Photographers, and the Society for Technical Communication.
We are members of AIPS (Association Internationale De La Presse Sportive), NSSA (National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association) and ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers) and the APTA (American Physical Therapy Association).
Our offices are in Del Mar, California. We'd love to hear from you, so give us a call: 888.877.0776.
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—Mark Johnson, Owner, Ironstring Communications
