We All Walk Book

We All Walk

By Monty Tran

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Just finished designing and submitting the We All Walk book for the photography.book.now contest hosted by blurb books, click above for preview and/or to order.

6/10/08 - Triple Falls - Carla, Selina, Letty, & Faisal

6/7/08 - Burch

Why the name Monty Tran?

Wikipedia states the following: A pen name, nom de plume, nom de guerre, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author for various reasons....I have two, for now:

1- Unique Name -- how many people by the name Paul Jackson are out there? A lot, if you googled Paul Jackson you would never find my work...I did just find out that Jackson Pollock's first name was Paul, though...Paul Jackson is a great bass player from Herbie Hancock's Headhunters, and I could go on and on. In the competitive world of digital photography, as photographer Seth Resnick says, "Having a website isn't enough for a photographer, the key is making sure that you are found." My editorial photography work credits the name Monty Tran, google it, and here I am.


2- Both Heritages Represented -- As an artist with photography as my medium of choice, my biggest question is: Who am I? From exploring that question for myself, I hope, with my work, to shed light into other lives, maybe inspiring them (as my life's purpose is to inspire and to be inspired) to ask the same (can you tell that I read a little Jack Kerouac, "On the Road" being a favorite), therefore building confidence of being linked to such intelligent history, and also, as reminded by my father, "humbling to know that we are just a small part of the greater universe".

My father is from North Carolina, his roots are Scottish/Welsh, Jackson is Scott/Irish and Montgomery (Montgomery Shire in Wales) is of Welsh descent. My great-grandfather's last name was Montgomery, friends called him Monty and he had all daughters, one being my grandmother, hence my given middle name of Montgomery, with the intention of keeping the name in the family.

My mother is from Loc Khan, Vietnam, her family name is Tran (found at the beginning of name in Vietnamese culture i.e. Tran Lang [just a factoid for you]) and her mother's maiden name is Ngyuen. The two are the most common names in Vietnamese society, but in their history you will find poetic stories of triumph and perseverance.


There you have it, Monty Tran. Note that this is a combination of two maiden names, representing the feminine, the yin, and the peaceful -- which is what I'd like my work to speak of, knowing that I do not always -- being the masculine, the yang, and the destructive -- balance is key.

UTNE Reader/Oct. 2007 Issue -- Bodies and Souls -- ...& A Lesson in Copywrite and Negotiation

This story, in the Mindful Living section, was written about Interplay, a dance group based out of San Fransisco who equate their practice to spiritual discipline. "An American-grown alternative to yoga provides both a way for adults to play and a serious tool for personal and social change.", states Jon Spayde, the article's author.

I had the opportunity to photograph an Interplay retreat in Asheville, where this image is taken....great shoot I might add, complete with stage lighting and a little participation of my own (I attempted to dance and flow as I shot, it was completely contagious)...recently, I was contacted by the marketing cordinator who wanted me to sign a contract for UTNE magazine to release the image...as excited as I was to have the image published in a favorite mag of mine, I was perturbed that Interplay had not contacted me before sending the image out....this was my mistake..I supplied them with the images on disc (Lou Jacobs Jr. refers to this as "photo-in-hand syndrome" in his book "The Big Picture") and told them they could use the images for in-house publication, with royalty-free use, without stipulating that outside print reproduction would require extra compensation....Dohh! They told UTNE that they could use them, luckily the magazine's policies require a release signed by the photographer/copywrite holder....well, they had already ran the image....plus they credited Paul Jackson, not my artist name of Monty Tran....both constitute copywrite infringement....when I contacted UTNE they offered a fair 1/4 page rate and I gladly accepted, excited to be in their publication....but I also run a buisiness, had I been more keen to my rights and the possible consequences of their actions, I probably could have negotiated double the rate that I recieved.

Saturday in Beacon, NY

A highlight of my short-term stay in Brooklyn, for sure.....my roommate Carla Hoade and I headed to this small tourist town on the Hudson River, about 2hrs north of Manhattan...checked out an awesome exhibit at Beacon Gallery hosted by Fovea Exhibitions entitled "It Is Our War"...begun with a heated panel discussion concerning war images in the media and how we receive them...moderated by Jamie Wellford, Newsweek's international photo editor....panel also included a West Point grad, who had served in Iraq, and the photographers whose work was featured: New York Times photographer Todd Heisler, who was awarded the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for "Final Salute"...Chris Hondros, recipient of the Robert Capa Gold Medal, war photography's highest honor, for his work in Iraq..also staff photographer for Getty Images.....and Suzanne Opton, a widely published photographer with work in the collections of the Bibliotheque Nationale de France and the Musee de L'Elysee..she also teaches at the International Center of Photography and Cooper Union in NYC......great stuff...all images having heavy impact, conveying stories of loss from both sides of the war in Iraq.

Following the discussion and exhibit we grabbed a bite to eat and then came back to a grassy field across the street from the gallery..once the sun went down we viewed accomplished photojournalist's stories projected onto the side of a building, accompanied by music...all presented by seen/unseen......photo essay by Stanley Greene entitled "Chalk Lines", Q. Sakamaki's "Rio Favela: Survival" and "Sri Lanka: War without End", Farah Nosh's "Wounded Iraq", Jake Price's "Silent Exile", Lorena Ros's "Human Trafficking", Moises Saman's "Elections in Haiti" and "La Vida por Las Maras", and Alan Chin's "Hurricane Katrina, Renaissance Village, and New Orleans"......it was fantastic work, all of it, though Q. Sakamaki's series resonated with me the most....due to the striking contrast within the images, creating graphic shapes, revealing drama.....emphasizing the injustices at hand..the extreme violence in the Rio's Favelas, or slums, to the 24-year civil war between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka.

Afterwards at a cool little restaurant/bar called Tonique I introduced myself to Jamie, Newsweek's photo editor, and gave him a calendar from my Vietnam show as well as Stanley Green, who covered the Vietnam War, not only from the American side but also from the perspective of the Viet Cong, amazing!

After leaving the bar Alan Chin, a friend of Carla's, took us to Stephanie's (fovea board member) house where most of the photographers were....there was Chinese food, a mix of beverages, and lots of stories being told....we stayed till 2am before driving back to brooklyn...it was a good one.

Regeneration

First of all I'd like to thank everyone who came out on Veterans Day, November 11th to the LG Gallery for their support in making the first "Vietnam: more than war" exhibition such a successful event. Ticket sales were high along with calendars, t-shirts, and prints. We raised a fair amount of money for the Tran Family and the Vietnam Relief Effort, but this is still a work in progress. The t-shirts, 2007 calendars, and limited edition prints are now available on this site, get them while you can!

Some of the large format scrolls have been on display at Salsa's, downtown Asheville, check them out if you haven't already. We are currently putting together a media packet to entice other galleries across the US to host the exhibition. Also, we will be adding video from the show on our website, so check back soon!

ps - The t-shirt that i'm wearing in the photo above is from AHN OI, a great resource for Vietnam inspired clothing.