Hello from my desk in Polson, Montana!
I'm Luke, a photographer, poet, graphic artist, singer, songwriter, and author who lives and works in Northwest Montana. I've been shooting pictures with any camera I could get my hands on since I was a little boy. I developed a love of photography from a young age, and would use my dad's old Canon AE1 film camera as often as my old man would let me. It would cost about a buck/shot in those days, so each time I got to shoot a roll of film, it was a real treat. We are so spoiled now -- being able to shoot 3K-4K shots in a single afternoon, especially with a preview of what the final image will look like on the viewscreen.
I married my wife in Oct, 2022 and in Dec, 2023 we welcomed our daughter into the world!
I love capturing the human face and human expression. I have a light, bold, personal style that often shows not just the eyes of my subject, but their color. I prefer very personal portraits, and learned a lot, stylistically from people like Annie Leibovits, Dorthea Lange, Annie Leibovitst and the photojournalistic street photography style of Henri Cartier-Bresson, who coined the phrase "the decisive moment" when it comes to photography. He has been an inspiration by setting into my heart the words that my soul were already living.
The decisive moment. How wonderful.
I love the purity of black and white photographs, and don't simply do a 'monochrome' adjustment with photoshop but have shot lots of rolls of black and white film in my younger years, and now, when shooting digital on my Nikon D800E (the best 36mp DSLR in the world) I will take color shots and create a 'gradient map' which allows me to "dial-in" the darkest darks, and the lightest lights, and to create a ratio - between the two. This creates what I would call the perfect black & white. Ansel Adams has been a major influence in my understanding of composition and contrast. We must remember; that every time we shoot photos outdoors -- especially photos of a person, that person is also existing in a place. And time.
This - is the joy of photography. Immortalizing a memory: from a place, at a certain moment in time. And that moment happens once. And will never come again.
I especially enjoy the moment with portrait work that a philosopher once called, "the confrontation between souls." And rather than make this a tense and uncomfortable thing, frustrating to the soul, as some photographers do... I prefer to let the soul shine through my subject, and flow freely - like water out of the eyes. I love capturing the soul shining through the eyes of my subjects. And my BEST photographs - have been photographs of PEOPLE. Photos like this one:
And this one:
I'm Luke, a photographer, poet, graphic artist, singer, songwriter, and author who lives and works in Northwest Montana. I've been shooting pictures with any camera I could get my hands on since I was a little boy. I developed a love of photography from a young age, and would use my dad's old Canon AE1 film camera as often as my old man would let me. It would cost about a buck/shot in those days, so each time I got to shoot a roll of film, it was a real treat. We are so spoiled now -- being able to shoot 3K-4K shots in a single afternoon, especially with a preview of what the final image will look like on the viewscreen.
I married my wife in Oct, 2022 and in Dec, 2023 we welcomed our daughter into the world!
I love capturing the human face and human expression. I have a light, bold, personal style that often shows not just the eyes of my subject, but their color. I prefer very personal portraits, and learned a lot, stylistically from people like Annie Leibovits, Dorthea Lange, Annie Leibovitst and the photojournalistic street photography style of Henri Cartier-Bresson, who coined the phrase "the decisive moment" when it comes to photography. He has been an inspiration by setting into my heart the words that my soul were already living.
The decisive moment. How wonderful.
I love the purity of black and white photographs, and don't simply do a 'monochrome' adjustment with photoshop but have shot lots of rolls of black and white film in my younger years, and now, when shooting digital on my Nikon D800E (the best 36mp DSLR in the world) I will take color shots and create a 'gradient map' which allows me to "dial-in" the darkest darks, and the lightest lights, and to create a ratio - between the two. This creates what I would call the perfect black & white. Ansel Adams has been a major influence in my understanding of composition and contrast. We must remember; that every time we shoot photos outdoors -- especially photos of a person, that person is also existing in a place. And time.
This - is the joy of photography. Immortalizing a memory: from a place, at a certain moment in time. And that moment happens once. And will never come again.
I especially enjoy the moment with portrait work that a philosopher once called, "the confrontation between souls." And rather than make this a tense and uncomfortable thing, frustrating to the soul, as some photographers do... I prefer to let the soul shine through my subject, and flow freely - like water out of the eyes. I love capturing the soul shining through the eyes of my subjects. And my BEST photographs - have been photographs of PEOPLE. Photos like this one:
And this one:
I also play the piano, and am a singer, songwriter, tenor with the Mission Valley Choral Society (for the past 6 years). I lead my church choir on Sundays, and grew up singing in church, like Johnny Cash. I used to call into the radio with my mom when I was a kid and request things like Elton John, Neil Diamond, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and many others. I grew up on a wide variety of music. Rock, folk, Americana, funk, soul, rhythm & blues, jazz, classical, and many others.
I have completed over 2500 works of mixed media art including paintings in every medium (spray paint, oil, acrylic, watercolor, etc) and photographic digital art which "collides worlds." I take photographs of nature, industry, faces, wood grain, rocks, concrete, etc, and then find proportionally complimentary photographs and blend them digitally to create new worlds of color, contrast, texture, and self-expression. My work would fill several museums.
Some of my favorite composers and conductors work their way into my art, through the patient blending of pitch, and auditory rhythms with physical movements. I equate painting and design with dance. As in dance and boxing, art is the story of music and poetry in motion. Light and space existing in time. Color and life. Texture and soul.
I am also a writer, mathematician, and poet. I have written many poems and have won awards for them. And I have written a children’s book, "The Moose Who Thought He Was a Horse." The book is currently undergoing illustration. Some of my poems have become songs, and I have been approached by Hollywood producer Lauren Wild to do an album. Lauren has produced Rod Stewart, Carly Simon, Art Garfunkel, Engelbert Humperdink, and many others. Your financial support of his artistic work will help him achieve one of his life goals of producing an album of Americana and blues. I have an 8 octave range, and when I broke my shoulder in 2015 the X-Ray tech at St. Luke's hospital in Ronan said when seeing my scan that I "had the biggest lungs she'd ever seen." And she'd X-rayed thousands of people.
I am a guest lecturer for college art students. And come from a long family of educators. He fix computers and does in-house technology consulting, tutorials, and demonstrations for the elderly.
As you can see, my work is not just photography, but all of it revolves around matters of the heart, spirit, and life.
Life, death, love. Light and laughter. Color, and contrast. Joy and music. Peace and a warm home full of smiles and home-cooked meals. This is my life.
Photography is really just a way for me to connect with and serve others. Otherwise my life would become a bubble with my wife and daughter in it, and days, weeks, years would go by and I might never meet all the wonderful people I serve through my studio portrait and wedding photography. Anyone who comes to me wanting outdoor portraits not only gets portraits of their soul shining out their eyes; but gets them in one of my favorite places. Places that breed peace. And engender hope, tranquility, and have the best light. I have traveled all over, and I know where the best light is. And when it comes to art... for the eyes, that's what it's all about. Light.
John F. Kennedy said in his Inaugural Address, Jan 20th 1960 from the American University in Washington, D.C.,
"In final analysis, the one common link we all share, is that we all inhabit this one small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's futures. And we are ALL mortal." I always add that we are all black when the lights go out - and we all bleed red.
I have completed over 2500 works of mixed media art including paintings in every medium (spray paint, oil, acrylic, watercolor, etc) and photographic digital art which "collides worlds." I take photographs of nature, industry, faces, wood grain, rocks, concrete, etc, and then find proportionally complimentary photographs and blend them digitally to create new worlds of color, contrast, texture, and self-expression. My work would fill several museums.
Some of my favorite composers and conductors work their way into my art, through the patient blending of pitch, and auditory rhythms with physical movements. I equate painting and design with dance. As in dance and boxing, art is the story of music and poetry in motion. Light and space existing in time. Color and life. Texture and soul.
I am also a writer, mathematician, and poet. I have written many poems and have won awards for them. And I have written a children’s book, "The Moose Who Thought He Was a Horse." The book is currently undergoing illustration. Some of my poems have become songs, and I have been approached by Hollywood producer Lauren Wild to do an album. Lauren has produced Rod Stewart, Carly Simon, Art Garfunkel, Engelbert Humperdink, and many others. Your financial support of his artistic work will help him achieve one of his life goals of producing an album of Americana and blues. I have an 8 octave range, and when I broke my shoulder in 2015 the X-Ray tech at St. Luke's hospital in Ronan said when seeing my scan that I "had the biggest lungs she'd ever seen." And she'd X-rayed thousands of people.
I am a guest lecturer for college art students. And come from a long family of educators. He fix computers and does in-house technology consulting, tutorials, and demonstrations for the elderly.
As you can see, my work is not just photography, but all of it revolves around matters of the heart, spirit, and life.
Life, death, love. Light and laughter. Color, and contrast. Joy and music. Peace and a warm home full of smiles and home-cooked meals. This is my life.
Photography is really just a way for me to connect with and serve others. Otherwise my life would become a bubble with my wife and daughter in it, and days, weeks, years would go by and I might never meet all the wonderful people I serve through my studio portrait and wedding photography. Anyone who comes to me wanting outdoor portraits not only gets portraits of their soul shining out their eyes; but gets them in one of my favorite places. Places that breed peace. And engender hope, tranquility, and have the best light. I have traveled all over, and I know where the best light is. And when it comes to art... for the eyes, that's what it's all about. Light.
John F. Kennedy said in his Inaugural Address, Jan 20th 1960 from the American University in Washington, D.C.,
"In final analysis, the one common link we all share, is that we all inhabit this one small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's futures. And we are ALL mortal." I always add that we are all black when the lights go out - and we all bleed red.
