Jack Montgomery, Taurean at Morse Mountain Beach, 1/5, 1998/2024, Inkjet print, 24 x 24 inches, $2,000.

“Taurean at Morse Mountain Beach, Art and Nature Aligned” is a photograph made during an expedition with the Portland Ballet in the summer of 1998. I was still in my early days of photography, having begun in earnest only about five years previously. It was a magical day. Eight dancers and I hiked to the beach which is located in Phippsburg, Maine. The sky was overcast with a light haze at the horizon — perfect for photography. My camera was a Hasselblad, which I still use. Each and every one of the dancers was completely engaged, dancing at low tide on the empty beach, the only sound being the gentle hiss of the surf and the occasional call of a seagull. In all the years since, I have never experienced a greater sense of shared joy in making photographs than on that day.

This image, and all others from that shoot, were the product of a collaboration with the subjects. I gave them little direction, beyond the admonition to help me make the portrait that they would like to see of themselves. “I am your mirror” has been my instruction for decades.  Taurean’s natural grace and outgoing personality made him an ideal subject.  We have remained in touch over the ensuing 25 plus years. He lives in New York City where he continues to dance and now pursues a career in arts administration.  This photograph speaks volumes to me, but I am content to let the viewer experience the portrait in the context of their own imagination. - J. M.

Jack Montgomery is a photographer based in Freeport, Maine. He has been making images since the early 1990’s. His subjects have ranged widely, included portraits of New York Firefighters after 9/11, Maine’s Holocaust survivors, young people coming of age on the Maine coast, transgender youth, fetishists in New York, judges, villagers in the Dominican Republic, and dancers in Portland, Maine and Sienna, Italy among others. He has also completed several landscape and architectural series, focused primarily on Maine but also including Italy (mainland and Sicily) and Japan.  His photographs have been exhibited in Maine, New York City, Italy and France. They are included in the collections of museums and private individuals, and seen on book covers.  Jack prints his photographs by a variety of means, including the 19th century processes of kallitype, palladium (“ziatype”), photogravure, gelatin silver and archival dye prints.