When Duke Goetz was 10 years old, his father gave him a Kodak instamatic camera, which started the Monroe resident's life-long fascination with photography.
Goetz is a self-taught photographer, who has had a dual role in our greater community as a theater-owner and a photography hobbyist. Goetz shines when he's focused in on local high school sports where he's captured untold images of local youth excelling.
What's helped Goetz evolve as a photographer is he has a keen knowledge of photography equipment.
After receiving that first camera, his father gave him a Canon AE camera when he was in high school.
By the time Goetz was in graduate school, he purchased his own premiere Canon F-1 SLR.
"As my son got involved in sports, I started back into sports photography," Goetz said. "I had taken photos for several years when I was in high school. With my son involved in soccer, I eventually took photographs of that, then track and field and then Monroe cross country.
He's picked up many tips and pieces of advice along the way.
"A Wisconsin State Journal photographer saw me taking images at the Monona Grove Invitational and just came up to me and started asking me questions," Goetz said. "Then he gave me some great suggestions. Among these was to focus the image with the '*' button, not the shutter button ..."
There's more to photography than just pushing buttons.
Goetz learned from his father how to develop black-and-white film. Goetz's father was a photography buff and had good equipment. Once he allowed Duke to take his camera to a Milwaukee Bucks basketball game.
"I still have my shots of that game, in black-and-white, of Lew Alcindor (before becoming Kareem Abduhl Jabbar), Oscar Robertson and Bobby Dandridge," Goetz said.
Goetz hasn't limited his photography to sports. Most recently he was able to capture a special part of his son's education. His son is a student at Palmer Chiropractic School and is set to graduate in 2018. Goetz used a technical remote to take photographs of his son and himself at his son's "white coat ceremony" at Palmer last year.
As for shooting local sports, Duke tries to capture images of students from Monroe, Darlington, Albany, Pecatonica, Argyle, Brodhead, Juda and Beloit Memorial.
"I've covered a few Badger cross country meets, been to the Penn Carnival relays and made two trips to the Kansas Relays. The bigger meets were covering our boys 3,200 relay teams," Goetz said. "My interest is driven by coaches, who use my work for their year-end videos, booklets, banquets ... And I like to try to make an athlete's day by providing images used in the local media."
The students know Duke has a pretty important job and he's often greeted by them or gets a wave while walking from event to event at meets.
Duke is well known because he takes good photographs. The eye behind the lens is always to credit for this, but Duke has also invested in the best hobbyist equipment affordable.
He uses Canon camera bodies for sports and wildlife shots. He has extended lenses to enhance focal lengths. Most important, he has an array of impressive large lenses with low f-stops. This allows each image to capture more light and stop action instantaneously.
"All of my lenses are the 'L' series, which is the top-of-the-line," Duke said. "The phrase, 'You get what you pay for' is true in photography. I will say, for me, it is a bit of an addiction, but it keeps my mind focused - no pun intended."
When not taking photos, he's operating Goetz theaters, which includes the theater in downtown Monroe and Sky-Vu Drive-in on Wisconsin 69 south of Monroe. The drive-in is one of just a few hundred of such theaters remaining in the United States.
"My work, along with having some darn good employees, affords me the time to travel to sporting events," Goetz said. "I just have to make up for the time later, which I'm happy to do."
Goetz recently went south to the Circle B Bar Reserve to shoot wildlife photographs in Lakeland, Florida. His subjects included colorful tropical birds and a well-known large alligator. He traveled around the ponds and canals of the ranch for three weeks.
The wildlife subjects Duke shoots are available for purchase by print media or customers. The media used can be high-end photographic paper to metallic canvas.
"I put more time in than the labs for color adjustments and other enhancements needed in the printing process, which can be tedious, but the outcome makes it worthwhile," Duke said. "I have many images in the lobby of the Goetz Theater, my home, my son's apartment, other family members' homes and a few friends' places."
Ever have a question about your camera?
"Many people call me to talk about cameras or what they should buy for themselves," Duke said. "I tell them to start with great 'glass' (which refers to the lens). A lower f-stop will create sharper images. A solid camera body is needed, too.
"I have given opportunities to others, athletes, to use my equipment at state meets besides invitational meets," he continued. "I set the camera up, then off they go. We meet up later. They do well. It's great to see their perspective."
And many people get to see Duke's perspective through his images.
- Matt Johnson is publisher of the Monroe Times. His column is published Wednesdays.
Goetz is a self-taught photographer, who has had a dual role in our greater community as a theater-owner and a photography hobbyist. Goetz shines when he's focused in on local high school sports where he's captured untold images of local youth excelling.
What's helped Goetz evolve as a photographer is he has a keen knowledge of photography equipment.
After receiving that first camera, his father gave him a Canon AE camera when he was in high school.
By the time Goetz was in graduate school, he purchased his own premiere Canon F-1 SLR.
"As my son got involved in sports, I started back into sports photography," Goetz said. "I had taken photos for several years when I was in high school. With my son involved in soccer, I eventually took photographs of that, then track and field and then Monroe cross country.
He's picked up many tips and pieces of advice along the way.
"A Wisconsin State Journal photographer saw me taking images at the Monona Grove Invitational and just came up to me and started asking me questions," Goetz said. "Then he gave me some great suggestions. Among these was to focus the image with the '*' button, not the shutter button ..."
There's more to photography than just pushing buttons.
Goetz learned from his father how to develop black-and-white film. Goetz's father was a photography buff and had good equipment. Once he allowed Duke to take his camera to a Milwaukee Bucks basketball game.
"I still have my shots of that game, in black-and-white, of Lew Alcindor (before becoming Kareem Abduhl Jabbar), Oscar Robertson and Bobby Dandridge," Goetz said.
Goetz hasn't limited his photography to sports. Most recently he was able to capture a special part of his son's education. His son is a student at Palmer Chiropractic School and is set to graduate in 2018. Goetz used a technical remote to take photographs of his son and himself at his son's "white coat ceremony" at Palmer last year.
As for shooting local sports, Duke tries to capture images of students from Monroe, Darlington, Albany, Pecatonica, Argyle, Brodhead, Juda and Beloit Memorial.
"I've covered a few Badger cross country meets, been to the Penn Carnival relays and made two trips to the Kansas Relays. The bigger meets were covering our boys 3,200 relay teams," Goetz said. "My interest is driven by coaches, who use my work for their year-end videos, booklets, banquets ... And I like to try to make an athlete's day by providing images used in the local media."
The students know Duke has a pretty important job and he's often greeted by them or gets a wave while walking from event to event at meets.
Duke is well known because he takes good photographs. The eye behind the lens is always to credit for this, but Duke has also invested in the best hobbyist equipment affordable.
He uses Canon camera bodies for sports and wildlife shots. He has extended lenses to enhance focal lengths. Most important, he has an array of impressive large lenses with low f-stops. This allows each image to capture more light and stop action instantaneously.
"All of my lenses are the 'L' series, which is the top-of-the-line," Duke said. "The phrase, 'You get what you pay for' is true in photography. I will say, for me, it is a bit of an addiction, but it keeps my mind focused - no pun intended."
When not taking photos, he's operating Goetz theaters, which includes the theater in downtown Monroe and Sky-Vu Drive-in on Wisconsin 69 south of Monroe. The drive-in is one of just a few hundred of such theaters remaining in the United States.
"My work, along with having some darn good employees, affords me the time to travel to sporting events," Goetz said. "I just have to make up for the time later, which I'm happy to do."
Goetz recently went south to the Circle B Bar Reserve to shoot wildlife photographs in Lakeland, Florida. His subjects included colorful tropical birds and a well-known large alligator. He traveled around the ponds and canals of the ranch for three weeks.
The wildlife subjects Duke shoots are available for purchase by print media or customers. The media used can be high-end photographic paper to metallic canvas.
"I put more time in than the labs for color adjustments and other enhancements needed in the printing process, which can be tedious, but the outcome makes it worthwhile," Duke said. "I have many images in the lobby of the Goetz Theater, my home, my son's apartment, other family members' homes and a few friends' places."
Ever have a question about your camera?
"Many people call me to talk about cameras or what they should buy for themselves," Duke said. "I tell them to start with great 'glass' (which refers to the lens). A lower f-stop will create sharper images. A solid camera body is needed, too.
"I have given opportunities to others, athletes, to use my equipment at state meets besides invitational meets," he continued. "I set the camera up, then off they go. We meet up later. They do well. It's great to see their perspective."
And many people get to see Duke's perspective through his images.
- Matt Johnson is publisher of the Monroe Times. His column is published Wednesdays.
