Those of you who are photographers may or may not know the name. I didn’t until just the other day… A day late and a dollar short.
I often frequent the site of Ken Rockwell, an esteemed photographer, and evidently a man who doesn’t merely adjust his depth of field, but changes space-time. He is very knowledgeable in the ways of photography, and tells things how they are, without all the measurbation everyone else gets caught up in.
I was on his site the other day when I noticed a fleeting obituary.
… Monte Zucker, the world’s most famous wedding and portrait photographer, passed away from pancreatic cancer on March 15th at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. He was 77.
I am ashamed to say I had never heard of Monte Zucker until I read this, and I didn’t, at first, realize how much of a loss this really was.
Monte Zucker is an AMAZING wedding and portrait photographer from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It’s not that his photos are fantastic (they are much more), but that he is such an amazing teacher. Within moments on his website I learned more about posing for portrait photography than I have all year at NESCOM. Yes, it is Bridal portraiture, but the concepts are pretty much universal, and to a growing photographer, invaluable.
His death is a huge loss to the photography industry, both for the loss of all the wonderful images he could have taken, and for the loss of his wealth of knowledge for all the aspiring photographers of the world. If you are interested in the what knowledge he left behind for the lost of us, his educational videos are still for sale here. However, I would expect there would be a delay in processing and shipping while his family mourns his passing.
A true lesson as to the frailty of life, and speed and ferocity with which it can be taken away still stands on his site with his listing of class schedules:
Seems as if some serious health issues may cause a slight change of my schedule. As of now, I’m planning to go through with most of my plans for this year and next year.
Doctors today confirmed that I have a form of pancreatic/lymphatic cancer. I will begin treatments December 11th. The prognosis is that I have 9-12 months to live. Plenty of time to get things in order.
My goal is to teach my Las Vegas/WPPI class, and to teach once more in my home town, the Washington, DC area. I am also going to do everything in my power to teach the class in France.
Anything after that I’ll just have to wait and see.
Monte Zucker passed away on March 15, 2007, at a young 77 years in his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
From his website:
The Passing of a Legend
Monte Zucker: 1929-2007
Celebration of the Life of Monte Zucker
Sunday, April 22, 2007, 1-4 pm
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