Student Union - Don Holtz
Jay McCabe, April, 2000
Don Holtz
Lansing Community College
Lansing, Michigan
Open
To Interpretation
Currently
A third-year student at Lansing, Don is also an assistant to a commercial
photographer at Mid Coast Studios in Detroit.
Education
“When I started at Lansing it was a very technical school, they
teach the basics, the fundamentals, getting your exposures right on,
correct filtration for color. Then, with the addition of a couple of
instructors who tended to lean toward fine art, it achieved a nice balance.”
The Assistant Route “I’m
assisting because I really want to learn the business side of photography.
I want to know all the different job positions and what they do, the
Art Director, the stylist, the coordinator. I don’t know any of
that, and I want to learn how the machine works.”
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Influences
“Joyce Tenneson, not for style but for the feeling and emotion she
gets in photographs of people. I’ve never been comfortable photographing
people, so I recently started to do that just to get over the hesitation.
And Ansel Adams, I’m still learning the Zone System. Also Howard
Schatz, who inspired me with his creativity and feeling; and Ray Atkeson,
the landscape photographer, for his style.”
Equipment
“My camera of choice is the studio’s 4x5 Sinar. I also use
the school’s Hasselblad. My personal camera is a Kowa 6x6—it’s
always at my side.”
Goals
“To be able to support myself as a fine art photographer. I know
it’s a rough road, but that’s my true love. I think commercial
photography is the direction I’ll head, but I’d love to be
able to find a niche in commercial photography where fine art is the primary
style. Actually, my goals are always changing, and the more I find out
about the business, the more they change.”
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The Work
“I want people to have an emotional response to my pictures, but
not necessarily the response I have. The pictures are open to interpretation.
I just want the images to stop people for a moment and make them think
about what they’re seeing.”
Don Holtz was recommended to
us by Lansing Community College faculty member Glenn Rand.
Do you know a student whose
work deserves attention? If so, contact our editorial department.
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