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His passion for photography began when Monte Landis was a child. He bought his first
camera in a pawnshop, "a big old Argus," for $25. He was 12 years old, and he set out to
emulate the work of Ansel Adams and Gordon Parks that he saw in Life Magazine.
Inspired by their example, he's been honing his eye for great shots ever since. Landis, a material handler at St. Louis North Assembly, likes to immerse himself in different cultures with the help of his camera. His winning entry, a series of five portraits, rivets attention on Guatemalan women and their strikingly beautiful huipil (smock-like blouses). "This work is very personal to me," says Landis. "These are people who work really hard and, in spite of hardships, are resilient and incredible people. This rich culture is being lost by the second." The UAW Local 136 member also has traveled to Mexico, Europe and Japan to achieve his goal of breaking language barriers through his photographs. Wherever he shoots, Landis considers the camera to be almost incidental to the art of photography. "A camera is a box with a lens. It's really not about the camera. It's about the image." Landis has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography and also has studied his craft in Mexico. His goal is to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree. |
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