(Here's a photo done your way Monte... well sort of. I used a digital camera and did my cropping, dodging, burning and blurring in Photoshop. But it is black and white, upclose, and the subject is off center!)Last evening I had the pleasure of attending a photography class taught by Monte Nagler. For those of you not familiar with Monte he is a world renown photographer who specializes in black and white photography done the old fashion way... no digital cameras for him.
Monte's been in the business for many years and has traveled the world, capturing powerful images of nature, people, and architecture. He knows what he's doing and he does it well. His photos hang in art galleries, hospitals, corporations, and private homes. He has studied with Ansel Adams and teaches just about anyone that will listen. His fine art photography career has been good to him and he in turn gives back to his community (and communities around the world) by teaching classes, judging competitions, and writing articles.
(Here's the kind of photo I like to take. It too was "enhanced" in Photoshop, was taken with a digital camera, and is full color. Can't you just taste the flavor? Yum!)I found his class very interesting even though much of it was irrelevant to me. Monte prefers to shoot black and white and I'm all about rich color. Most of his photography features still images while I prefer action. He prefers to "do things the old way" (his words, not mine) and uses traditional cameras and film while I'm all about shooting digital images and seeking out the latest technology. Having said that, he still has lots of tips to share about composition, framing, backgrounds, filters, and telling a story or making a statement with a photo. And I have a lot to learn about those same things. So I took from his class what was of interest to me, politely listened to that which was irrelevant, and enjoyed the experience of being in a room full of others who love photography too. And hopefully my own photography will be the better for it.
