Twin Falls teacher’s photos selected for USS Idaho submarine

Wed Feb 18th, 2026

By Amanda Simmons

Published: Feb. 13, 2026 at 6:11 PM MST

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — A Harrison Elementary School teacher will have his photography displayed permanently aboard the U.S. Navy’s newest nuclear submarine after two of his images were selected for the USS Idaho photo contest.

Mark Mitchell, a photographer, captured images of the Perrine Bridge with the Sept. 11 memorial flag and Little City of Rocks, which will become fixtures inside the Virginia-class submarine.

“I don’t think that I ever imagined that something that I shot here would end up on a ship,” Mitchell said. “I think it is a pretty neat way for Twin Falls to be represented and for Idaho to be represented.”

Mitchell was practicing auto-exposure bracketing when he took the winning photographs, a technique that captures multiple exposures to create brighter and darker images that can be merged.

“I had just learned how to do auto-exposure bracketing,” Mitchell said. “I was just learning how to do that and I was fascinated with trying to figure it out and make it work right.”

The USS Idaho Commissioning Committee sought images that captured Idaho’s landscape, culture and wildlife for the submarine’s interior.

“It’s pretty neat that Twin Falls has that celebration for September 11th and that they hang the flag there it’s unique to be able live here,” Mitchell said. “And I think that having the flag in the picture is possibly inspiring to the sailors.”

Mitchell uses his achievement as a teaching moment for his students.

“I quite often encourage the kids and tell them to follow their interests and follow their hobbies because it may be something that they really like as an adult and it may be a big part of their life,” Mitchell said.

The Virginia-class submarine will be the fifth U.S. Navy vessel to bear the name Idaho. While it will be commissioned in Connecticut this April, Mitchell’s images will travel with the submarine wherever it deploys.

Mitchell was invited to attend the commissioning ceremony, but he will not attend.

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