For nearly 60 years, Fred Drotar captured the world with his camera.
Drotar, 92, of Newport is a wildlife photographer and was recently named Artist of the Month by the Monroe Art League, an organization he has been a part of for at least 30 years.
Fran Maedel started the club’s Artist of the Month honor years ago.
“I’m trying to resurrect Artist of the Month,” said Sandy Vanisacker of the league. “While searching through our archives and looking for ideas to help the Art League promote local artists, several programs from our past have resurfaced. This is one of them. I hope to encourage our artists to bring in more artwork.”
Drotar is the first in the new round of Artists of the Month. The second is also a mostly self-taught photographer from Newport, Charlie Rumschlag.
An award-winning photographer, Drotar bought his first camera in 1963 and taught himself to take pictures.
“I never really took a professional course,” he said.
Instead, he traveled the world while working as a platform engineer for Ford Motor Co. worked. While en route, he shot photographs of nature, including mountains, woodlands, birds and the Taj Mahal. Since 1963 he has taken thousands of photographs. Animals are his favorite subject.
In 1975, he took his favorite photo of all time in Florida.
“It’s called ‘Devoted Family,'” Drotar said. “It’s a picture of a nest with great blue herons in it. There are two baby herons. The male flew into the nest and wrapped his head around the female. I took this photo before digital. I took about four prizes with it. People bought copies.”
“I find digital a plus for nature and narrative photography,” he said.
His favorite lens is 600mm F4, 70-120mm F2.8 zoom and the 70-300 macro zoom.
Some photographers, he found, have now traded the lens for cell phones.
“There aren’t too many walking around with a 600mm lens that weighs 30 pounds,” Drotar said.
Drotar has displayed his work at local libraries, the River Raisin National Battlefield Park and other venues. In 2019, he even had a solo show at St. Mary Academy had.
“It was my only show,” Drotar said.
These days Drotar doesn’t travel that much, but he spends a lot of time in his basement printing his photos on canvas.
“I have a basement full of pictures,” he said. “I have a 24-inch printer. I have a collection of about 40 or 50 photos on canvas.”
The pursuit keeps him active.
“People need a hobby. It keeps me active. Most people my age sit around. You can’t just sit and mope. It kept me active during COVID. I have to give it credit for keeping me going,” Drotar said.
In addition to the Monroe Art League, Drotar was a member of the former Monroe Camera Club. At one time he also ran a digital photography club in his basement.
His work can be viewed at freddrotar.com.
“Growing up, I loved hunting and fishing with my father. I hunted as a young adult, and I found the woods in northern Michigan enchanting,” he said.
Over the years, Drotar has kept up with the latest in photo technology and transitioned to digital photography.
Charlie Rumschlag of Newport, also a recent Monroe Art League Artist of the Month, used to hunt animals. Now he hunts them with a camera.
But his interest was diverted by a friend.
“Years later, a new friend challenged me to hunt with a camera instead,” Rumschlag said.
He started working in photography in high school, but has no formal training.
“I got hooked on photography many, many, many years ago through a high school photography class. The darkroom became my favorite place for study hour,” said Rumschlag.
In college, Rumschlag put photography aside and studied electrical engineering. He still works in the field. But in 2008 he started the hobby again when he took his camera to Alaska. There he took a photo that remains his favorite.
“The beauty was amazing. “My favorite is a wolf family portrait in Denali National Park. There was a family of wolves moving in and out of the brush. I shot 135 photos of them as they moved around. Of those 135, I kept one that showed everyone’s eyes, and it looked like they were posing for a family portrait. It got me hooked on getting back into photography,” Rumschlag said.
Since then, he estimates he has taken “thousands and thousands” of photos across the country.
“The pursuit of photographing wildlife has taken me from the southernmost tip of Florida to the northernmost slope of Alaska and many places in between, but my favorite is still Michigan,” said Rumschlag.
To view Rumschlag’s work, visit Brestbayphoto.com and https://www.facebook.com/BrestBayPhoto
On the Net: monroeartleague.com
