Mark Howells-Mead

I’m a British photographer, designer and web developer and I live in Switzerland. Permanent Tourist is my personal website. I came up with the name because I try to live like an interested visitor, whether at home or elsewhere.

Elsewhere

I’m pretty active in social media channels, and also post content to YouTube and Google Maps.

Mark Howells-Mead, self-portrait January 2024

I speak English and Bernese (Swiss) German fluently, German relatively well, and French passably but with a little hesitation. Through my work on multilingual websites, I also have an understanding of written Italian, and my abilities in German allow me a basic understanding of Dutch.

Long before all this was a twinkle in my eye, I studied to A-level at Salesian College in Farnborough, Hampshire.

My better half

My wife Jo moved from Scotland to live with me in 2006. We married during 2007 in the splendour of Rosslyn Chapel, and combined our surnames. (That’s us, by the way, enjoying the amazing views in the mountains above Zermatt.)

Autobiography

I write long-form blog posts about my life from time to time.

Testimonial

Unbeknown to me, during one of my many visits to Switzerland, one of my fellow tourists somehow fell to the temptation of throwing away his return ticket and remain longer than is usually accepted for trippers. He describes himself, quite accurately I think, as the Permanent Tourist.

He now lives in a spacious flat, forever condemned to waking every morning to the sight of the majestic snow-capped alps and turquoise lakes, travel to his cushy lakeside job on the best, most efficient rail system in the world, and spend his weekends amidst scenery that most of us weep at for the sheer spectacle of beauty. To top it all, he does this in the accompaniment of a particularly gorgeous female.

As if this is not enough, he is able to encapsulate all this wonder in which he dwells through his lens with the efficiency of a keen-eyed sniper. Just look yourself, and you’ll see visions that are both stunning, clever and at times amusing. If he went professional, we may as well all throw away our cameras, for we are not worthy.

Graham McKenzie-Smith, 2006

The day job

I’m a developer, designer and partner at Say Hello GmbH: a web agency in Switzerland with a focus on WordPress, API integrations and Progressive Web Apps.

My daily work involves project management, concept work, cross-media solutions and workshop leadership, front-end, back-end and API development, media production, client consultancy, design and sales.

Previously, I’ve been a development manager, team leader, digital developer, media producer, content management system developer and customer services advisor for small, large and international companies based in the U.K. and Switzerland since the 1990s.

Latest blog posts

I write, I plan, I pontificate, I daydream.

Latest photos

For which I keep my mouth shut, and my eyes open.

  • Wetterhorn, Grindelwald
  • Eiger and trees
  • Spring skiing, Grindelwald
  • Tree conquers fence, Grindelwald