Biography

Brandon took her first photographs with a Kodak Pocket Instamatic 110 mm film camera. Using this camera, Brandon captured the sunset along a Texas highway when she was 10 years old. It was this photograph (shown below)  that began a passion with photography.  Brandon was born and raised along the Texas Gulf Coast. She moved to New York in the mid 80s. While living in New York, she travelled to Ireland and fell in love with the country. She now lives in County Monaghan, Ireland. Brandon specializes in authentic black and white photography, developed and printed in her wet darkroom (not digital). Although Brandon has been living in Ireland for many years, she still photographs Ireland through the eyes of a newcomer. She enjoys photographing the natural scenes of the Irish countryside, the cliffs along the beaches, the quaint villages and towns.

Brandon tried several types of camera systems and finally settled on the Nikon 35mm camera. She enjoys Nikon’s lens versatility and finds the cameras light weight and easy to use. Brandon discovered her photographic medium working with black and white film using available light. She prefers the soft light that natural lighting provides. Brandon’s experience in the darkroom began in the 1980s. She apprenticed noted photographers of Galveston, Texas, Vaden Smith and Jim Cruz, who shared their respective knowledge of not only the darkroom, but also photo-journalism, the use of available light and portraiture. Brandon’s work has been peer reviewed on several occasions. Renowned Arizonian portrait photographer, Kelly Holcombe, described Brandon as a ‘natural talent’. Robert John Mihovil, of Galveston, classified Brandon as a ‘photographic artist’.

Often when people think of black and white photography they think of the sharp contrast between the extremes of pure black and pure white. Black and white photography is much more than the contrast between two extremes. There are many shades between pure black and pure white. When we look at a scene with our eyes we see not only light but also the shadows. When we look at a tree, we see the subtle shades within the different textures. The hidden spaces under overgrown trees are not naturally fully illuminated and it is the lack of light that makes that space so remarkable. The use of available light allows for what is unseen. Brandon’s photographs using available light offer a sense of mystery, a sense of the unknown. Brandon explains, “When we throw artificial light on everything, we lose our own vision and often the photographic image attained does not represent the way we see, and comprehend what we see through our eyes.”

Brandon continues to be inspired by influential photographers such as W. Eugene Smith, Edward Weston, Dorthea Lange, Ansel Adams and Sally Mann. She points out that Edward Weston, who passed away in 1958, left behind film negatives that his family are printing from today. These photographs, although newly printed are from Weston’s original negatives, some date back to 1927. As Brandon has said, “People who know and understand the value of a genuine black and white photography have an appreciation for the artistry involved in creating the final image.” Brandon uses Kodak and Ilford negative films and most often Ilford papers. Different photographic papers produce varied tonal qualities depending on the paper itself. Some are warm tone and others are cool tone. The paper Brandon chooses depends on the subject, but she enjoys working with Ilford Multigrade fibre base papers.

Brandon’s hand crafted fine art black and white, toned, hand-tinted and ink & oil painted photographs have featured in interior design showrooms in New York, Texas and Ireland. If you are interested in artistic photography you will enjoy visiting Brandon’s fine art and portraiture sections of this website. Below is a self portrait of Brandon. Please feel free to email Brandon at info@brandonmonet.com with comments or questions.

Please Note: Brandon retains all negatives. Brandon’s photographs are copyright protected. Do not copy or use Brandon’s photographs without written permission. Downloading images from this website is prohibited.