The Strength of the Soul

Surfing around late in New York, I found this........a testament to the soul, that touched my heart.

Imagine a bucolic setting with a wooden schoolhouse, flooded with natural light, creating photographs with large format 19th c. view cameras while quieting the noise of the modern world to embrace the stillness of the past. That is what John Dugdale has created at the 12 acres surrounding his 1850's farmhouse in the Hudson Valley of New York.  After a career in commercial photography shooting for the likes of Ralph Lauren, Bergdorf Goodman and Martha Stewart, he lost most of his eyesight after a stroke. Although his sight was hindered, the passion of his soul persisted. His work is in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum and the Miami Art Museum. He is now sharing his inner vision and persistent passion for beauty through classes at the newly constructed "old school" on his property.  The grounds are located in Stone Ridge, New York about 45 minutes from my cabin, so if I can't get into one of the classes this summer, I am definitely going to see about a tour. Check out his website, thejohndugdaleschool.com; a fascinating man with a heroic soul that sees what his eyes can not. Above images are a self-portrait of Dugdale, a picture of the schoolhouse,  and a quote from Walt Whitman that he uses on his website.

Asian Inspiration

While looking at NeimanMarcus.com, I came across a few shots  that I had styled for them a while back. When shooting things like this for their website, we can often shoot up to 15 images a day. Given the quantity produced per day, I guess I was a bit surprised by the quality of these images and how much I liked them. I am hoping I can get the images for my portfolio on my website  phillipmontanez.com. I'm still working on the website as far as getting some more shots uploaded, but hope to have it finished soon. Matt Savins shot these images.......his work is stellar!