Author: Matt

26 Jul

Posted at 17:21h in Just for Fun
matty_7.24.10_ 198 Spent the day in the lava parks just outside Bend and Sunriver, OR. Some really cool lava landscapes, super hot when you are out walking on it in the middle of the day. The lava fields park is complete with a visitor center with all kinds of info about the surrounding volcanic history. I set out to take a few photos of the lava parks, but I also came away with some fun cloud photos. Used the lava formations and forest for framing/silhouetting for these shots. I'll have some of the lava pics for you later on, these cloud photos just stuck right out after I dumped the set to the computer so I tackled them first. These look amazing full screen. Enjoy.

25 Jul

Posted at 20:43h in Info/News, Just for Fun
  matty_7.24.10_ 025Spending a week down in Sunriver, OR to get some sun and relax. Brought the camera bag with me. Leave it to me to back 60 lbs of camera bag with me on vacation. No real plans to take any fantastic photos, just some fun and family captures. Much more extreme environment here when compared to the Seattle, WA area, it's much like Eastern Washington. It's either very hot or very cold. Even with temps hitting high 90's here, it's dipping into the 40's at night. The dry climate paints an different kind of landscape, plants adapted to live happily with virtually no water, and funny little critters shooting in and out of the rocky land. One such animal that can be found in abundance are chipmunks. They are cute and hilarious to watch. Every movement is a quick twitch, a sprint and a hope from rock to rock, they can't do anything slow, even whipping their tales from side to side like a dog, but at a lightning-like speed. The cameras (yes, plural, I overpack whether it's clothes or photo stuff) didn't come out during the ride down, not even the first day. The first itch to click the shutter came with the entertaining little chipmunks. Finally! A reason to slap the heavy yet amazing 100-400mm L lens onto the body. Sitting on the deck enjoying the late evening fading heat, these chipmunks were zipping in and out of the rocks, scavenging for any trace of food (the poor guys). For the benefit of their bellies (and the opportunity to get a closer shot, *cough*) we set out some potato chips for them to nibble on. Turns out, not only American humans enjoy super fatty food, but the American wildlife (when given the chance) partake in the junk food. If an article comes out next year about chipmunk obesity I'm gonna feel really bad. Here is a guy down below, probably just thinking he'd already been run over and had died and gone to heaven. "Holy acorns! A chunk of food the size of me." He'll sleep good tonight.

22 Jul

Posted at 15:29h in Events, Shoots
matty_7.18.10_ 704 Last weekend was the first annual Ryan Stiles Golf Classic event, held up in the always pleasent Bellingham, WA. It was a fundrasing effort with all proceeds going towards the Burned Children Recovery Foundation. The weekend was kicked-off Friday evening with a soldout comedy show with Ryan and the rest of the 'Whose Line' cast. Saturday evening hosted the Celebrity Gala & Auction where many cool, unique items were bid on, and many celebrities came to support. Sunday was 18 holes of celebriting golfing. In all, it was a very successful effort, generating more than $100,000 for the foundation in three days. Kent Loomer, fellow funny man and the event director, asked me to cover Saturday and Sunday's events. A lot of coverage here too, folks, about 16 hours worth within a day and a half. I do all of the photography for Ryan's comedy club up in Bellingham, and was more than happy to donate some time to document such a great cause.

13 Jul

Posted at 21:51h in Behind the Scenes, Gear, Just for Fun
matty_7.1.10_ 165 So, what do you need to use when you are looking for softbox-like light quality without having light spill all over the place? The answer is simple, the gridded softbox. It gives you the same control over light as normal grid spots that you'd throw in front of a normal barebulb light, but now with soft, beautiful light. I've always loved using grid spots on my barebulbs, but the light can just be so harsh on a subject's face, especially when it is one of the key lights. The gridded softbox works on that same principle, controlling the light and only letting it hit a small portion of a subject, but now you can get those pleasing contrasts and skin tones you can't get very well with barebulb lighting. That's typically my problem too, wanting that gorgeous, soft light on my subjects (usually female), but having trouble trying to keep the light off of other elements of the photo. It's not an easy task, that is, until now. Notice the photo below, my subject is literally 2-3 feet away from a black sheet used for a background, yet no light is spilling onto it. Even though it is a black sheet, if you were using a normal softbox for a light modifier, you'd have light spill onto the sheet and you'd get a little grey tint to the background. The grid added to the softbox directs the light on just my subject... a very good thing in this case.

03 Jul

Posted at 22:35h in Just for Fun, Tips & Techniques
IMG_8949 I was browsing the web the other day, like most days, and I saw the term once again, "light chaser." A descriptive term used for photographers. It struck a chord in me. If you are a regular reader of the blog or even a follower of my work, you'd know that the vast majority of my photography is not "chasing" light at all. In fact, it's quite the opposite. I am usually making light to compose my photographs. When I think of a 'light chaser' I think of like this herd of photographers roaming the streets, waiting for favorable light, or heck, just keeping their heads on a swivel, looking for chance opportunities where light might be shining a little luck their way. It's like back in the day when I used to watch the Scooby-Doo cartoon. Remember when they'd usually have a montage somewhere in each episode where the "gang" was running in and out of hallways doors, evading a monster. That's kinda how I picture photographers when they are referred to as light chasers, just running every which way, literally chasing light around, minus the cheesy music. Ok, leave the cheesy music, it's a good touch...

01 Jul

Posted at 16:14h in Shoots
matty_6.24.10_ 133 Beautiful Taylor, pictured above, recently joined with a model agency. She was in need of some photos with emphasis on just her to use for her portfolio. Nothing distracting, simple, nice head/model shots. Originally she wanted to do this on white seamless. Seamless is great and all, but... it's nothing special, everyone does it. In my mind, if I were marketing myself as a model in a sea of "talent," I would wanna standout a bit. I talked Taylor into doing some location stuff that would keep the backgrounds simple, add a little spice, yet keep her as the focus. She said that was cool. I selected a location with cement walls, ivy... just something with a touch of character to add that little something to the photo. It's not as simple as white seamless, and it's not like the 4th of July going off in the background. Calm, subtle, different.

22 Jun

Posted at 12:13h in Shoots
  Light, you know... that stuff we need reflecting off of everything around us to see. It's awesome, but... it doesn't tell nearly as good of a story as the shadows. Of course without light, you'd just have shadow, a black image, so I'm talking about a good mix of the two, it's that heavy contrast between light and dark that I'm in love with. Just as much as I need the light in my shots, I need those shadows. In my mind, it's not the light that tells the story of an image, it's the shadows, the parts we can't see. It carves out the subject, showing shape, telling a story all in it's own. Sure, super bright, over exposed images are great for making people's skin and faces look nice and clean, but it's boring. I want some character, I want the person to be etched in their true form, not hidmatty_6.20.10_ 154den in bright, over exposed images. I'm always looking for ways to bring deep, dark shadows into my images. I believe it tells the best story, it makes people stop and look at it. Obviously, there will always be exceptions to the rule, I will shoot bright, happy images when it's called for, but my preference is like the image below.

15 Jun

Posted at 17:21h in Info/News

A little update for everyone: I've had a great response to the call for participants in the Active Series project. We have well over 100 legitimate contenders fighting for a spot, and we are getting those narrowed down now. We are still accepting new comers, as...

14 Jun

Posted at 11:01h in Gear, Shoots, Tips & Techniques
matty_3.4.10_ 373 Ok... so we are shooting on-location. Woah, hold on. What does "on-location" even mean?! That all depends on you, the photographer, or you, the client who has hired a photographer. A lot of new photogs out there will toss around words like "on-location" to describe in a round-about way of saying they don't use lighting. Which translates to they haven't invested in either the knowledge, the equipment, or both in order to utilize lighting for on-location shoots. Photographers who spin their own reality using catchy words in an attempt to sound marketable, allthe while misinforming the public can drive me crazy at times. On-location does not mean you are having to settle for anything less than amazing. I bring up this odd tangent at the very beginning of my post to make a key point. That point is that on-location does not mean I can't bring the power and control of my lights with me where ever I go, in fact, it's the exact opposite. I repeat, I'm bringing more than just my camera to the party. I use every single piece of lighting equipment that I use in the studio in that big, wild, endless possibilities of an environment we call "on-location." It's the world around us, every part of it. And I'm here to tell you that every single part of it can be lit with off-camera lighting to create your own vision. A vision that couldn't happen without bringing your own lights along for the ride.

10 Jun

Posted at 16:11h in Shoots
matty_6.8.10_ 103 The picture above, which can only be described as pure awesomeness, is of little one and half year-old Brennan. The Barnes asked me to capture a family portrait while they had the growing family all in one spot for the week. An extremely sweet group, they were great to work with. We selected a spot at Tumwater Falls Park. If you haven't been there and live in the nearby area, you should definitely come visit it on a nice day. It has a really nice walking trail with little waterfalls to look at along the entire loop. There are little spots where you can get down to water level and climb on the rocks. This is where we ended up doing our session.

06 Jun

Posted at 01:13h in Gear, Shoots
matty_5.17.10_ 108 Yep, that's my super intelligent title for this post. Sorry, I'm kinda at a loss for this one. The resulting pictures from this shoot are actually for the Emergency Food Network. They have a harvest every year where they grow their own food for the food donation cause. The EFN team want me to capture the harvest at different points of the plant growth, then use the resulting photos for large prints around the office and such. So I'll be heading out to the harvest a handful of times from now to September. Pretty cool idea, something a little different for me, and a reason to try out the most recent addition to my lens collection, the new Canon macro lens. Yes, I market myself as a portrait photographer, however, I do a lot of other kinds of photo work besides just capturing people. So much so that I invested in a top shelf macro lens. Enter the Canon 100mm F2.8 L USM Macro. I'm using this bad boy for all of my small product photography as well as... well really small plants and anything else I need really great close-up detail on. So this post is kinda of a shoot/gear post, as I'll talk about the shoot itself and the macro lens too. I'm not great at all about doing the whole review thing on my gear. I just kinda like telling you what gear I have, how I use it, why I like/dislike it, and show you some work made by the gear. I'm a practical guy. I like practical explanations and real examples. So that's what you're getting. :)

05 Jun

Posted at 21:49h in Events
matty_4.18.10_ 124 - Version 2 Second and last full day of the Bellingham Film Festival. Two more workshops, more film showings, an awards ceremony, and of course, the party. The boys had there fun yesterday, today was the girls' turn to do some workshops. You might recognize the moderators for these workshops. Improv comedians DK and Morgan, provided some well-timed laughs during the sessions and kept the mood light. The days' guest speakers, Lisa Beach and Sara White, provided some much desired information for the audience, and of course, answered a ton of questions. Same drill as the day before, spent some time with each guest on the white seamless, as well as a few shots with their moderators. DK and Morgan always make my job easy, hell, even I'm laughing and smiling while behind the camera. In the words of Morgan as he was getting makeup applied for the shoot, "I don't know what this stuff is but it tastes delicious."

28 May

Posted at 14:43h in Events
matty_4.17.10_ 186 The great people who put on the Bellingham Film Festival asked me to be the exclusive photographer for this year's event. A huge thanks to Wilson Large, the main man behind the whole event, and the guy ensured I had everything I needed to capture the event. On top of this being a weekend for local film talent to show their stuff, there were four workshops held for the public to come listen in on. Four very well established individuals in the film industry were awesome enough to make the trek up to Bellingham from the film country and talk to the audience about what they do, how they made it, etc. Each evening was capped with a party. Funny thing about parties and being the photographer... the event host is always there to make sure you get a drink in your hand. Luckily these were some very laid back after parties, so who cares if my framing is a little crooked, right?... ;) We held the workshops at the soon-to-be new Pickford Dream Space. It'll be THEE place to come watch movies in Bellingham when it's done. Right now it is under construction, which has a really cool look and very fitting place to hold this event. Lots of open space, which was perfect for my white seamless setup. Our four guest speakers: Brian Sipe - Makeup FX artist, Michael Blundell - Cinematographer, Lisa Beach - Casting director, and Sara White - Executive producer, all donated a few minutes before their workshop to do a quick photo shoot for some PR shots on the white seamless. Andrew Lahmann, of P-51 Pictures, was another great help at the festival, ensuring I had everything I needed to get the right shots, and who was also responsible for recruiting the excellent guests for the festival. We setup a little studio in the middle of the floor space, even built some gobos out of some plywood we found laying around. It was a great little impromptu set! The awesome people at Sonya's Quality Furniture let us borrow a cool chair for use as a prop, worked out perfectly. I used to live in Bellingham for a number of years and loved it, I miss that place a lot. As a whole, the people are so nice, very pro small business, and there is an amazing amount of people willing to lend a hand to help out.

24 May

Posted at 16:41h in Info/News

activeSeriesPromo

IF INTERESTED, CLICK HERE TO CONTACT MATTY

Calling ALL Athletes Matty Photography is looking for athletes of all styles, shapes, ages, and sizes. Looking for track stars, body builders, tennis players, hoopsters, skateboarders, dancers, rock climbers, baseball players, cyclists, you name it... we wanna hear from you. Matty is looking to capture a unique series of people in their "moment" doing what they love. We are looking for those who push the limit in one way or another, following their passion, excelling at what they do. Using creative lighting, Matt will capture raw moments in time, giving a new perspective of our active lives. "Active" will be a series of photos showcasing the culmination of all your hard work, the human form pushing itself. These won't be cheesy posing pictures, they will be taken while you are at the peak of your jump, the middle of your swing, the point of your limit. They will be explosive, story-telling shots. We want to hear from you, now!

21 May

Posted at 19:49h in Shoots
matty_4.28.10_ 073 A few months back, when we did the calendar project for Smokin' Hot Espresso, we also designed a punch card for each girl using the photography from the calendar shoots. Each girl then had an individual card to hand out to repeat customers, they've been a big hit. They've had a three more girls join the team since then and were in need of some photos, specifically for creating punch cards for the new employees. For those newer readers that a completely lost, flip back a few months in the posts and you'll get caught up real fast. We originally planned on shooting this set on white seamless, but... I got the craving to do something a little more creative last minute. Like, really last minute. Try an hour before the shoot! Found a solid location that had the graffiti scene going on. Now... I know what you are thinking, "geez, hasn't the graffiti thing been played out yet?". The answer to that lays in how you use it. You can compose your shots in a way where you are totally relying on the graffiti art as your focal point, or you can use it to accent your models. I chose the later, and using various lighting techniques, I added or subtracted how much of the graffiti played a role in the shots.

13 May

Posted at 13:57h in Just for Fun

Wow, it's almost been a month since my last post, I'm so sorry! My chief editor, Coal (pictured above) has been riding me like crazy to get him some new work to approve for the blog. The good news is that I have plenty of...

15 Apr

Posted at 22:20h in Shoots
IMG_2388 Another shoot with Tiare Floral Design in the books. Tomasi, the designer, always amazes me with his work. It's fun when two artists who come from two completely different fields collaborate on projects. You get double the art, an... art-in-art if you will. Tomasi's work pushes me at times with lighting, giving me a challenge, which is awesome. The designs are never the same and range wildly in size, with some breaching the 5 feet mark. These are not small floral arrangements. Lighting them equally across the entire piece can be difficult at times, especially the wide variety of materials that are used.

08 Apr

Posted at 13:03h in Shoots
matty_3.6.10_ 284 A few weeks back I shot a group of the Upfront Theatre improv comedians for some advertising material. It was a lot of fun. Set up your lights, pull out the camera, and these guys just start doing there thing. You don't have to say a thing, they just kinda know it's time to take pictures and they jump right into a skit as if there were an audience in front of them.

02 Apr

Posted at 18:24h in Info/News
matty_3.29.10_ 024 Spent a bit of the evening editing work for clients and taking it easy for my last day here in Alaska. Did a walk-around the other day and took a few photos, here are a couple of them.

01 Apr

Posted at 21:00h in Just for Fun, Shoots
matty_3.29.10_ 216 Got some time to finish up the ice sculpture photos and post up some more selects. If you are saying "what? What ice sculptures?" You should click here to read part uno - CLICK FOR PART 1 -. So... on to more pictures and a little bit more story. Almost being in Alaska for a week now, I can tell you this was the most fun I had while taking pictures here. I mean... how often to you get to go photograph the location where the world's best ice carvers come to compete?! Again, these pictures don't give these guys nearly enough credit because of all the melting that had taken place before I showed up.