Where I live: The healing power of photography with Monte Nagler

I looked forward to seeing the image of one of my favorite lighthouses every day for nearly a month several years ago.

Some of those days, I could almost feel the warm sand between the toes of my bare feet, feel the cool water of Lake Michigan as it lapped up on the beach and hear the cry of gulls as they swooped down to catch a fish in the waves on a sunny Northern Michigan day.

Of course, I was walking into a hospital cafeteria each of those days, but a floor-to-ceiling image of one of my favorite places on the planet posted at the cafeteria's entrance would give me at least a moment of cheer me as I headed to the hospital's deli counter or salad bar.

I don't know what photographer captured that Point Betsie Lighthouse image I so admired in the hospital, but I was grateful for its presence every time that I saw it.

It is a pretty place, isn't it?

Photographer Monte Nagler has a real understanding of the healing and cheering power he can create for others in a stressful hospital setting with his beautiful images, so it was a special treat for me to see a recent presentation from him about his photography for the Motor City Camera Club at PROCAM in metropolitan Detroit.

I've spent an inordinate amount of time at hospitals over the past five years. I've often sat in a drab waiting room, perched on a hard chair in a patient's room or, as during my hospital adventure early last month, slumped for 12-plus hours on a flimsy folding chair in the middle of an emergency room hallway.

One thing I've learned to do over these recent years is to appreciate the work of photographers who create the peaceful images that seem to increasingly fill the walls and other spaces in newer medical facilities.    

Nagler works with many medical facilities to create spaces aimed at providing a more relaxing environment for patients, visitors and overworked medical staff. His scenic images of waterfalls, gardens, wooded paths and mountains grace hospital lobbies, exam rooms, procedure rooms, hallways, cafeterias and other places where a soothing image can create a bright spot in an otherwise stressful and dreary day.

His camera club presentation featured slides of many of his installations at medical facilities around town, and around the country. The images never ceased to amaze me with their beauty and Nagler's readily apparent care and compassion for those who will see his images most frequently.

Nagler seems to have a special gift for matching his images to the needs of his viewers, and many of his installations go well beyond being just a few pretty pictures on a wall. His images seem to draw you into the soothing scenes, and his installations represent some new and imaginative ways of showcasing them.

Nagler's use of installations like floor graphics and ceiling panels, images that curve around walls and equipment, banners and panoramic images help surround viewer with beauty that can momentarily make them forget the more sterile and cold aspects of their surroundings.

Be sure to check out Nagler's PhotosforHealing site and the page featuring his installations for inspiration spurred by his understanding of the healing power of photography.

Better yet, check out his main photography site to learn more about his fine art photography and to see if he has a gallery show, workshop or photography workshop in your area.

Nagler, a fine art photographer who began his serious study of photography with Ansel Adams, lives in metropolitan Detroit. You can find his work in museums that include the Detroit Institute of Arts, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, and the Grand Rapids Art Museum, as well in many public spaces that include corporate offices, commercial buildings and medical facilities around the country. He teaches classes and seminars around the country, writes a nationally syndicated photography column and is the author of six photography books. We particularly enjoy his beautiful collection of black-and-white images from around the state, Michigan: The Photographs of Monte Nagler, which we bought last year as we traveled around northern Michigan.

© Dominique King 2014 All rights reserved

Comments

[wanderingeducators]

Dominique, this is STUNNING. His work is incredible, and as a long-time visitor to hospitals myself, more than welcome. Thank you for sharing!

[Dominique King]

Thanks, Jessie! I thought his work was definitely worth sharing with others. He didn't seem to have any installations at the Royal Oak Beaumont, where we usually go, but his big "water feature" installation is in Troy Beaumont (not far from here) and he has a lot of other local installations. I've noticed more creative uses of photography in medical settings lately, though...like photo panels for overhead lights and bigger murals that draw viewers into the scene.