Tannia Montero

Student

“The people at SMC all seem to work very hard to make a very beautiful ambience.”

“What I’m going to do is to take photography into all the areas of my life,” says Tannia Montero. “I’m a sky diver, so I’ll shoot from the sky. And I’m a scuba diver, so I want to be in the water, shooting whales.” Tannia is currently trying to track down a noted whale photographer who works for Nikon. “He’s a specialist in his field and I hope he will let me become his assistant,” says Tannia. “It’s very important to always learn from other photographers.” But indeed, Tannia has always been surrounded by photographers.

“I come from Costa Rica where my family has a portrait studio called ‘Rembrandt,’” says Tannia, who has learned by osmosis watching her father work. “But now I’m taking a portrait class with George Phillips which is a lot of fun. And the last class I took was Basic Photo Lab Techniques. It’s always important to develop good work habits,” she continues. “I’m getting some good discipline and I hope that the results will soon show up in my exhibition.”

Tannia has been photographing a documentary coverage of the old steel factory where Terminator II was filmed and hopes to display the work she’s created in the near future.

She plans on a career shooting for magazines and is preparing vigorously for entry into that very competitive field. “But right now, I’ll shoot everything that comes along. And eventually, the universe will give me the connections I need.” One connection she keeps up is with her family in Costa Rica. “Some of us live here now; some have stayed home,” she says. “So I have two countries, which is fun, because I love being a good tourist—wherever I am!”

Back