Low Light Photography of Monty Kaplan

Monty Kaplan is a photographer originally from Argentina and currently living in Miami, Florida. In one of his interviews he says that his photography is about capturing a certain mood… “Usually a pretty depressing and dark one… I often find myself taking the most upbeat, colorful pictures, followed by some very dour ones. My style is all over the board, but be it day or night, light (and lack thereof) is always my main concern. I just try to capture in a very minimalistic manner. I search for the things everyone else is not paying attention to.”

Here’s an assortment of dark and darker images of Monty Kaplan all selected by him with his inputs on his work:

About me and my relationship with photography: My relationship with photography started out very early in life. I was always interested and drawn to it, but it took a very long time for me to take it seriously as a profession. I worked for many years as a film editor and then as a film director, and always took photos as more of a hobby. After I finished shooting my first feature film I was exhausted in every possible sense of the word, and I needed to focus my mind on something else, and that something else became photography.

My artist statement, preferences, and methods into shooting: I honestly don’t have an artist “statement”, nor preferences for that matter. I think that I have a very raw style, almost documentary like. I usually just go out and walk around for a long time, and just try to let my gut guide me, whatever I find interesting I’ll shoot. But I do try to capture and transmit a certain surreal mood every time I decide to take a photo. So it’s a mix bag I think, between the reality of the moment and the place, and the fiction I’m trying to conjure up with the mood.

My current/featured projects: Here I’m featuring photos from three series: “Nightcrawler”, “Sleep Paralysis” and “Decay”. The decision to feature just these three is because of their similarities with each other. All three are an exploration in low light photography, but also have very similar themes. I wanted to convey a feeling of surreal loneliness. It’s as if I was literally the last human on Earth, and would be documenting the end of it all.

My influences and favorite stuff: Well, I hate to come off as vague, but honestly my thing with influences is that I feel almost everything inspires me daily, so I try not to pin it on just one thing or just one wave of people who I admire. I hate to give out a few names because the list is so large it’s endless. And I end up feeling like a snob for just mentioning the few we all know and love. I mean, I’m a seriously huge film buff and it’s a big part of who I am as a photographer but I also read a lot, look at a lot of art books, I’m a sucker for graphic design as well. I’m always attracted to things I feel that are new and fresh, and exciting. I love to be surprised.

All photos © Monty Kaplan : Website | Instagram