RE: Brooks Institute of Photography
- From: "Geoff Hopkinson" <hoppyman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <leica@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2008 12:46:25 +1000
Jim, I guess there are two aspects of this closing. It sounds like it will
be sorely missed by those who have attended. Also though a wonderful campus
and estate to the eye. I hope that the new owners use it sensitively.
I challenge anyone to say that Hallie's portrait would work better in BW!
Cheers
Geoff
http://www.pbase.com/hoppyman/e
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/gh/
_____
From: leica-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:leica-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Jim Brick
Sent: Sunday, 7 September 2008 09:29
To: leica@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Brooks Institute of Photography
LEGgers,
In the guise of Nathan, I decided to talk about (and show) what I've been up
to.
Over the past few months I've been spending a considerable amount of time at
my old alma mater, Brooks Institute of Photography.
The first real campus was (actually still is) an estate in Montecito.
Montecito is a very upscale community that sits above Santa Barbara, CA,
with a great view of the Santa Barbara beaches, waterfront, Pacific ocean,
and channel islands. The estate was the Graholm estate, built somewhere
around 1900 and had something to do with the Henry Ford family. The Brooks
family initially lived there and, of course, it was the school. The estate
is quite large and easily handled a hundred or so students. When I was
there, there was maybe fifty students total. Ernie Brooks Jr. (son of the
founder Ernest Brooks Sr.) is my age and actually went through the school
(as a student) at the same time that I did.
The Brooks Institute Montecito campus, as far as I am concerned, IS Brooks
Institute of Photography. Brooks now consists of five campi (plural of
campus), and the Brooks family no longer owns the school. The school is now
a full fledged college, offering BA's in professional photography, visual
journalism, visual arts, film & video production, and master of fine art
degrees.
The original campus, Montecito campus (my campus!), is being sold. This is
very very sad and is extremely difficult for me to process. They held a wake
for the campus on June 18th. The selling of the Brooks Institute Montecito
estate was so unnerving to Ernie Brooks Jr. (the owner/president/CEO for a
couple of decades after his dad, Ernest Brooks Sr., handed over the reins),
he could not attend.
My wife Jennie, and I, attended the wake. In order to be able to process the
sale, I decided to photograph the Montecito campus and make a book. I have
roughly fifty photographs so far and over the next couple of months (the
Montecito campus will be turned over to the new owners somewhere around
November 15th), I will continue to photograph the nuances of the campus. I
was given a key which opens every door, and allows me to go anywhere and get
into everything. I'll finish the photography and then start working on the
book.
I've put up a few pictures of the original Brooks Institute Montecito
campus. This is just a 'mini' preview so you can see what the Montecito
campus actually looks like.
http://www.visualimpressions.com/Brooks_Institute_mini/index.html
During my recent days at Brooks Institute, Jennie and I befriended some of
the current students. I have lots of stories to tell about them but for the
purposes of this post, I'll just post a couple of 'casual' portraits. I
photographed them standing by some of their work, and at a barbecue held
Santa Barbara's Shoreline park. The last portrait is of Hallie Mac, a server
in 'The Natural Cafe', where we always eat lunch, sometimes dinner. That is
her real hair, not a wig!
http://www.visualimpressions.com/Brooks_Institute_casual_portraits/index.htm
l
The other interesting thing that happened is, I was asked to give the
commencement speech at the Brooks Institute graduation, held on August 31st
(last Sunday). I, of course, accepted. How often, over one's lifetime, does
one get asked to be a part of the very soul of one's passion? Typically,
never. This was an honor beyond anything I could imagine. So last Sunday, I
gave the commencement speech to the graduation class, 150 graduates plus
family and friends. Second largest Brooks graduating class ever. They filled
the Arlington theater, plus the balcony. This was a fabulous experience.
Absolutely fabulous!
I am truly lucky that I went to Brooks Institute of Photography, and that I
went when the Montecito campus was the only campus. And I am still following
that lucky streak by being able to be so close to the school, its staff, and
students.
:-)
Jim
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