Missoula's Rocky Mountain School of Photography closing after 35 years

Rocky Mountain School of Photography (RMSP) in Missoula has announced it will be closing its doors after 35 years.

“We're not as much an art school. We're more of a trade school for artists,” shared Director Forest Chaput de Saintonge.

Rocky Mountain School of Photography has been offering courses for aspiring photographers.

"There's so many people who have a better life, a life that they've wanted forever, a better career after attending," said Chaput de Saintonge.

Chaput de Saintonge’s family started the school in 1989. His father studied with Ansel Adams and brought some of Adams's technical expertise to RMSP.

"We are a technical school in the way that there's a lot of lecture, but every lecture is usually accompanied with a field shoot or practice time where the students get their hands on their gear, they're learning it with assistants and instructors standing by and then there's critiques,” explained Chaput de Saintonge.

Chaput de Saintonge grew up as the school grew its programs.

“Most of my formative memories as a kid were in and around the school." He continued, "I was probably five or six years old when I would draw out mazes on pieces of paper and then copy them on the copy machine and give them out to students. I started teaching when I was 17 and kind of just kept doing more and doing more.”

Emily Brown/MTN News

The family announced on July 10 that they would be closing the school’s doors for good.

“Registrations are dropping because, just industry changes, I think online education has had a huge impact. We fought it for as long as we could and kind of made that our niche,” said Chaput de Saintonge.

Additionally, the cost of living is making it harder for people to attend the school in person.

“Missoula is expensive to live here. And for someone to think about, you know, coming to our professional program, which is nine months, paying the tuition, but also paying nine months of living also not being able to have a job for nine months because our programs are intense,” Chaput de Saintonge stated.

Staff are pouring all they have into their last summer intensive class and students are taking note.

“So, I sort of tried to go down the, like YouTube tutorial sort of self-teaching kind of route and I just found it was kind of slow and it just wasn't really doing it," shared student Kevin Doherty. "And this course just looked like it was going to tick all the right boxes and it definitely did,” he added.

Doherty came all the way to Missoula from the West coast of Ireland. He loves to film big wave surfing and thought RMSP would elevate his craft.

Emily Brown/MTN News

“It's made a huge impact even on my learning stuff I already thought I knew how to do. I've learned how to do the right way now. And just technical stuff and I think really just how I see photography as well,” Doherty said.

He’s feeling honored to be part of the last RMSP class.

“You know, it's sort of the end, but I'm just delighted that I got to experience it and it's really, it's been amazing. I'd do it 10 times again if I could,” expressed Doherty.

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