5MINS with Monty Kaplan
Hi Monty, could you tell us how you got into photography and what inspired you to do so?
Well, basically what happened was that a couple of years ago I finished shooting my first feature film, and because it was a very low budget, the production was excruciating, and it ended wearing me out, both physically and mentally. After that ordeal I needed to retreat, to find something I could do by myself, for myself, and that’s when photography stopped being a hobby and became a profession.
You’ve said you’re a filmmaker, is this what helps give a narrative to your work?
Absolutely. I think to have worked for so long as a film editor specially, it’s what gives me a different sense of how to handle the visual information. Being an editor is all about handling information for an audience, you decide what, when and how they are going to receive it, so there’s always a sense of narrative in the background.
Has this film background enhanced your picture making?
Yes, i think so. It gave me a very specific sense of mood and how to transmit it. Being a filmmaker gives you a different relationship with the light, because you learn to shoot it in a way that you are almost manipulating it. And for me it’s always about playing with light.
Your work ‘Nightcrawler’ is about the peace and fear of the dark, do you think your images suggest one more than the other?
I think it’s a bit more on the fear side. But that’s just because i like the feeling of dread. It’s very exciting. It’s something that affects your body to it’s very core. I’m a sucker for the horror genre, bot in films and literature, so that’s also the reason probably.
Alongside those feelings, do you think your pictures evoke the loneliness or the tranquil nature of night?
On that note, I think it’s more the loneliness. There’s few things that make you feel so lonely as walking around an urban space that’s completely empty.
Could you tell me who inspired you to take up photography alongside film making? Who are you’re influential photographers?
You know, I always try to avoid this sort of question. I don’t like giving names on the fly because there are just so many photographers that have inspired me, and keep on doing so. But I guess Elliott Erwitt has to be one of those that really had an impact on my way of looking at photography. His work drives me crazy.
In this work there is the juxtaposition of the dark and the bright lights is this important to you?
Yes, it is. It’s all about the right mix. When you’re dealing with low-light you have to be very subtle, but also make sure you’re not going over board an completely loosing what you want to show in the darkness. It’s a fine line you have to walk.
What photography projects are next for you?
Right now i’m working on a series called “Sleep Paralysis” that feels very much like an extension of “Nightcrawler”. Still dealing with the inability to sleep, but this series has a more surreal tone to it.
Thanks for your time!
Check out more of Monty's work here and check out #PHOTOGRAPHY Magazine Issue 16 here
