Shoot The Sun Down

Odysseus and Report on Business Mag

2012-02-07T14:58:00.000-08:00

I was fortunate enough in December to be commissioned to create two images for Report On Business Magazine out of Toronto. The article is about investing and how our human instincts can sometimes lead us to make poor decisions.

In this first image our businessman ties himself down to his investments even though there’s an oncoming storm in the background. Much like Odysseus ties himself to the mast of his ship as they sail past the sirens our businessman has tied himself up to prevent himself from panicking and running away when he’s in the thick of the storm.

In the second image we see our businessman beat and torn but still alive and still holding on to his investments.

The moral? Don’t sell your stocks just because it’s looking bad out there! Oh, and go ahead and apply this symbolism to anything: friendship, relationships, careers, etc.

I'm still working on that book...

2012-01-15T18:58:00.000-08:00

...that one I've been talking about a lot. It's possible that life just doesn't give you enough time to complete all the projects you start. It's possible that I've already shot the entire thing but haven't had enough time to put into the insane amount of hours it's going to cost to edit this thing together. It's possible I think about it every day wishing I could hole up and devote an undisturbed month to it and complete it. It will happen. I think the time is coming.

At least for Chapter 1.

Soon...

Paige and the Thousand

2012-01-15T18:53:00.000-08:00

Ryan Kittleman

2012-01-15T18:46:00.000-08:00

Steer the Stars

2011-11-08T21:21:00.000-08:00

The Sea, the Sea

2011-09-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a new addition to my personal portfolio - one cold morning, a very willing, dedicated, and humble friend, and half a day of retouching.

I think I've tried to explain my conceptual process in the past but sometimes I can feel a bit defensive about it. In some ways I feel like it's a bit backwards because I don't always have the true meaning of the work figured out before I make it and then I get down, thinking that, as an artist, the work doesn't mean as much if you didn't have a clear intent when making it. Truth is I almost never understand it until it's finished. Generally, I only come to understand the work after it's been created.

Some of the stuff I do is just fun, just image making for the sake of it, but then there are images that are really personal and important to me. Really from the beginning they all start from the same place - it's only through the process of making the stuff that I figure out if it's any good, how much it means to me, and what it is I'm doing.

The man in this shot, the awesome bay area theatrical artist Nathaniel "Natty" Justiniano, had a lot to say about what he saw in this image. I love that the image takes on new forms in different peoples minds. So much of the intrigue is in the viewers own narrative that I'm often hesitant to explain what the image means to me. I don't want to ruin the impression of an image with words because if the viewer can create their own narrative, filling in the blanks with their own story, then the work really becomes alive and personal. That's why I think my best work is the work that doesn't have a statement, but asks a question. That being said only read the bottom three sentences if you want to because I tell you what it is I see when I look at this image.

*Spoiler Alert!*

To me, when I look at this image I see myself. I see my fear of the unknown, my fear of change, my fear of death. By making this picture I think I'm living through the man in it because he's a lot braver than me.

-Matt

Max Burke

2011-09-01T15:40:00.000-07:00

Max Burke is a good friend of mine. He is a freelance writer living and working in Brooklyn. His work has appeared in Altered Zones and Prefix Magazine among others. Max has lived in Amsterdam, Tokyo and Los Angeles. Follow his twitter here: twitter.com/maxburke

The Father and Son

2011-07-17T19:58:00.000-07:00

Here's a sneak preview! It's a story about a father's love, a mother's devotion, epic beards, and the mysterious powers found in some of the darkest places. I can't wait to unveil the rest but first I have to thank all of the great folks that helped out on this shoot:

Cast:
The Father: Daniel da Silva
The Son: Anthony "AJ" Viola
The Mother: Candace Myers
The Girl in the Woods: Heather Michaels
The Baby: Townes Jeter

Crew:
Jesse Silver: Production Design, Prop Styling
Shannon Dunn: Wardrobe
France Pierson: H&M
Shawn Burke: Special FX H&M
Jesse Semler: Production Assistant/Photo Assistant/Key Dude
Logan Barrier: Photo Assistant
Matt Thompson: Project Sculptor

A special thanks to:

Terry Heffernan at Dogpatch Studios for being incredibly generous and running an awesome studio.

Marcus at Scene 2: Couldn't have done it without these guys and their space, materials, and talent.

Mary Zeeble for loads of things including hooking me up with a top notch style crew.
Kelly Montez for being critical and supportive at the same time.
Nick Kiripolsky for doing an amazing job illustrating the layouts and for things that have not yet come...
Travis Deuel for lending the wheels that made it all possible.
Danielle and Chris Viola for lending me their incredibly awesome and tough kid.
Nathaniel Justiniano for being the most dependable, talented and devoted dude.
Valerie McKenzie for being an awesome child wrangler.
Candace Myers and Mike Jeter for lending me their child.
John Merkl for the support!
Rachel Stephenson for lying for me.
Nate Helm for telling me where to find a tree.
Ashley Fenton for hooking me up with Matt Thompson, the awesome builder.
Jesse Semler for pulling crazy hours and doing crazy things for this project, we had a good time!
Anyone who supported me or this idea along the way, it all meant a lot to me. Thank you.

An extreme special thanks to:
Jesse Silver for pulling 15 hour days with me for 8 days straight. You made it happen.

More to come!

Into the Belly of the Whale

2011-04-29T19:04:00.000-07:00

All of my other work is done. I can now focus 100% on the job at hand. Starting tomorrow morning I will be producing the crazy beast that is this project. Studios, sets, locations, grass sets, vans, face molds, beard experts, stylists, models, actors, kids, lights, gear, props... I will be fully immersed in production from Saturday morning till Friday night... but tonight, I rest. I can't wait!

Feature Shoot Interview

2011-04-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

Here's an interview that was just put up on featureshoot.com today. Click here to see the feature or read below for all the good stuff!

San Francisco based Matt Sartain is a photographer and visual storyteller. His photos, which are whimsical compositions of fairytales and imagination, have been featured in many outlets including appearing on the covers of both CMYK and HOW magazines. He has worked with clients such as Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, BBDO, The New York Times Magazine, & HOW Design. Additionally, Sartain’s ‘Misadventures’ series has been exhibited in China and throughout the US.

Can you talk a little bit about the project you’re currently working on?
‘The project that I’m currently working on is a photographic storybook that unveils an entire new epic narrative from beginning to end. Unlike my old work that only gives us a snapshot into an implied larger story this will be the entire scope of an adventure following characters as they journey through a mysterious world learning of life and death, love and loss and their dreams, pains, and experiences along the way.

‘The scope of what I have written for this project is enormous (in terms of production) so I’ll most likely approach this one chapter at a time, continuing to add to the story episodically as time goes on. The final format will be printed like a textless graphic novel as well as a gallery show – the prints laid out on the wall mimicking the page layout of the book so that the project is cohesive from print to wall.

‘The first chapter in the story that I am producing is the story of a desperate father’s journey to save the life of his dying boy. The journey, the sacrifices, and the outcomes are not at all what the father imagined’.

Your work very much utilizes digital manipulation and composites. Do you think this method of creation adds to the narrative strength of your work? If so, how?

‘Besides the color and toning in Photoshop I would be happy to do all of these things in camera. Truth is it’s often not practical and sometimes not even possible to do what I want in camera. Often times the use of compositing and manipulation is a more accessible way to get something that would otherwise be out of my budget. I hope to do more practical in-camera imagery as the budget for my work grows. The less compositing the better as far as I’m concerned, so when I use that technique it’s because the decision has been made from a production standpoint. Before any shot goes into production I consider what I have (time/money/location/crew) and then decide what I can do in camera and what I do in post. Often times images that would require an enormous crew, rigging, permits, etc. are just me and one other person – compositing allows for a lot of freedoms.

‘The role of compositing has had a remarkable effect on my photography. I remember when I first began to construct images – I started small and went bigger and bigger and bigger. I was excited when I discovered that my work was only limited to my imagination. There’s something really empowering about feeling like there is nothing I can’t create – I don’t mean that in a cocky way, I mean only to say that I’ve discovered my strengths and weaknesses and I know that if I can concept an image I can create it’.

There seems to be a real sense of dream-like imagination throughout your images. Where does the inspiration for these concepts come from?
‘My work is inspired by a number of things and dreams are part of that. The image of The Shipwreck came from a dream I had where I was lost on a series of tall floating islands over the sea that were guarded by giants. I jumped over the cliff into the water and found an oak barrel and floated along the currents until I woke up.

‘Besides my dreams I my aesthetic has been shaped by tons of stuff. Illustrators like Shel Silverstein, Arthur Rackham and Winsor McCay. The great imaginations of Frank L. Baum, Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis and Tolkien were inseparable to my developing mind. Video games like Zelda took me on epic quests as a child and when I went to study English for my undergrad writers like Poe and Melville showed me the “darker” side of the American Romantics. Movies are an enormous influence. Filmakers like Terrence Malick and The Cohen Brothers and screenwriters like Charlie Kaufman have been inspiring me for years.

‘All of these things mush together to form some idea of my aesthetic. I have a lot of influences that are in the “fantasy” genre but I’ve always believed that, when concerning my own work, it’s important to cement fantastic events within a real world so that the impacts of these events matter to the characters involved. If everything is a fantasy then nothing really matters. There has to be the cement of reality somewhere within the scope of the work so that the events have meaning’.

The panoramic nature of the photos in the ‘Misadventures’ series you did a couple years ago, really makes the whole project feel quite cinematic. I especially love how as much as the single images tell a story they also seem to inspire the viewer to make up their own story – was this intentional?
‘Definitely. Though, that body of work developed very naturally I began noticing opportunities to explore the mystery and intrigue of untold stories. I wanted to show a piece of some character’s larger journey without revealing too much of it. If the imagery was beautiful enough and the events unfolding intriguing enough I hoped it would inspire the viewers imagination to create their own beginning and end. I’ve had some great responses from people who have described their feelings about the work and I love it because the reactions and responses can be completely unexpected and can often show me a way to look at the work that I hadn’t ever thought of’.

Planning, scouting, casting, writing, rewriting, drawing...

2011-04-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

I feel like I've made a lot of headway. The things I thought I knew have changed...

I've gone back to the drawing board, started a new path, and then gone back again. Really really big ideas can get smashed by the hammer of reality. Time, money, people. These are all my challenges.

I have learned that the best way to keep doing what I need to do is to adapt.

What if I don't have enough time or money to produce an epic photo book that spans hundreds of pages? Perhaps I should focus on creating one chapter at a time - one chapter every year in an epic intertwined story, each chapter dozens of pages of images. Maybe I'll never stop adding to it. Life's work? Maybe it's too soon to make those claims. I am, after all, at the whim of other people - actors, stylists, set builders - all of them donating their time.

The giant story was an insane idea. Not to say I can't do it. But, I mean.... it's a pretty mad (mad in the ginsberg, gonzo kind of way) thing I'm trying to do. So I decided: let's try this thing one step at a time - hence my decisions to focus on the 4th chapter: The Story of the Forest King.

The point is that there are struggles during the artistic process. I'm in the thick of it now. It's hard to wait. It's hard to see a production date weeks away... planning, scouting, casting, writing, rewriting, drawing even though I can't draw... Within a few weeks I will be in the studio shooting this beast. After that I will hole up in my wonderful underwater cave of an office (only coming out to have cappucino's or beers on the roof) and I will put these thing together.

Then.... ?

Anatomy of a Shot

2011-03-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

It's a weird thing making images the way I do. It's sort of like an illustrator - you make something out of nothing. Very little of what I do is "observational" photography. In fact, little of it is actually photographing anything the way it is - instead I just use pieces of the real world to construct a different one. So it's like the way an illustrator would work, but instead of having the ability to draw something any way you see it I'm limited to the mimetic nature of photography - I can only photograph real things, and then construct them into something new. It's sometimes seems as limiting as it is limitless...

I get into trouble when I fuss too much. I'm like a teenage girl waiting for her prom date - he's running late so she fusses and fusses with her makeup and hair and by the time he shows up she looks like a scary clown. There's really no point while retouching where I really solidly go "ok, it's done". It's so easy to lose perspective when you put hours into an image... I imagine it's similar to a painter putting layers of oil on a canvas... at what point do you stop correcting yourself? painting over, etc. It's even harder with photoshop because you can literally edit forever... so when do you stop?

This is a shot I had worked on a while back... after sitting on it for a while I just didn't think the final image lived up to my expectations so I went back and did a re-edit. In doing so I found some screenshots that I must have taken during the original process. I think it's kind of interesting to see how these things develop so I decided to share the process a bit here. The final version is at the top of this post and the working images are in order of the working process.

Introducing the New Project

2011-03-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

So I rambled a bit here about this project but i'll reintroduce it.

I am planning a new project that will be a series of narratives that will all intertwine into one big story. I will be taking this project one step at a time. My fellow shipmate and awesome old buddy Nick Kiripolsky illustrated this image for me as part of a storyboard for my project.

There's more.... this is just a teaser.

The project that I am beginning with is Ch. 4: The Story of the Forest King.

The 4th chapter of my epic photographic adventure tells the story of a desperate father's journey to save the life of his son... and the sacrifices made in the process...

I give my humblest thanks to the awesomely talented Nick for doing such a great job illustrating these storyboards so quickly over the course of an afternoon.

New Work

2010-11-22T13:00:00.000-08:00

Here's some new work! I've updated the website www.mattsartain.com and I still have a couple things up my sleeve, so keep checking in!

Enjoy!

Petapixel and Lowestoft Chronicle

2010-08-10T15:24:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Petapixel for featuring my work on their site and to all the people liking, sharing and retweeting it. That feature can be seen here.

I will also be featured on the online literary magazine Lowestoft Chronicle. That issue will be out in September. It'll be the first time being published in a lit mag even though I got an English degree - figured it wouldn't happen after I switched my focus to photography - but I guess it was always meant to be!

After a long silence the website is updated.

2010-07-31T17:58:00.001-07:00

After a long run working to pay the bills, touring the country, and spending way too much time in my head I've finally uploaded some new images... Here's a taste... More to come soon! See more at www.mattsartain.com

Andy

2010-01-11T17:11:00.000-08:00

New Image

2010-01-11T11:16:00.000-08:00

I've uploaded a new image on my website, but you can see it here as well.

Lots more to come soon.

-matt

Opening Night Irvine Contemporary

2009-08-11T16:40:00.000-07:00

So opening night was a success! August 8th, 2009 saw the opening night of Introductions5 at the Irvine Contemporary Gallery in D.C. Here's a link to the show information show will be up for the month so if you know anyone in the D.C. area please send them out! There is a lot of fantastic work from other recent MFA grads in the show. I was unfortunately not there because I was in San Diego at my brother's wedding (congratulations Nate and Tertia!) but I heard it was a fantastic evening and event! Someone even wrote about what I do in words that I haven't used before, but I really think it's a well written and descriptive short review of my work:

Matt Sartain

MFA, Academy of Art University, San Francisco
Photography

Matt Sartain composes highly-detailed panorama photographs that present strange but accessible narratives, fantasies, and allegories involving a central figure in a deep-focus landscape. Each image is full of visual surprises and presents a convincing fictional world where nostalgia, the hyper-real, and the surreal converge.

Back in Town, Blogged About, and a Gallery Show!

2009-07-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

Well I've been away for a bit, traveling the great state of California in search of new and wonderful locations. I traveled to the great American River, the Ghost Town of Bodie, the mysterious Mono Lake, the beaches and hills of Santa Barbara and the epic coast of Big Sur. It was a wonderful and inspiring experience.

When I came back to San Francisco there was a lot of news waiting for me. The first thing I noticed was the number of blogs I have found myself in. I wanted to forward these on because if you like my work, then you might like these peoples blogs. Check out some here:

www.cameraluv.com/

inspireyoutothink.com/matt-sartain-photography

nfgraphics.com/?s=matt+sartain&x=0&y=0

kiske.tumblr.com/post/110758098

The first and 2nd postings are in english, the next two are in spanish and the last one... i'm not sure about. I love that the internet allows people from all over the world to view my work. I'm particularly happy about getting so many hits in Spain and Asia, two places I've never been but want to visit badly!

It's funny, again, I love translating these pages, they always create funny and sometimes poetic expressions - you couldn't write this kind of stuff. I noticed the 3rd link had quite a lot of comments which I took as a great sign of how my work can create discussion. BUT as i shortly found out the first couple comments are about the work and the 3rd and following 20 or so comments are all about Lost, the TV show! I'm not mad because I like that show too.

In other news I'll be having my first gallery show at the Irvine Contemporary Gallery in D.C. Martin Irvine, who represents a number of great artists like Shepard Fairey and Kahn/Selesnick, contacted me about being a part of a group show for recent MFA graduates.

http://irvinecontemporary.com/otherExhibitions.php?eventID=98

I'll be the only photographer in the show and the rest of the artists are all really great and inspiring at their respective crafts. The show is called Introductions 5 and it opens on August 8th - I won't be able to be present because it's the same day as my brother's wedding! (congratulations Nathan and Tertia!) but if anyone is in the D.C. area it should be a great show.

More later! Until then, and in earnest,

Matt

HOW Design

2009-06-29T14:19:00.000-07:00

Check out my image on the cover of HOW Design Magazine. It's available in the stores now, it's got some other pictures of mine as well as an interview. Cool huh?

The Hunchback

2009-06-08T10:05:00.000-07:00

Here's a recent photo I've created. This one is called The Hunchback. Pictured is a man/creature who lives atop a lonely mountain overlooking a city in which he is not welcome. Sadly this creature spends most of his time vying over the city with unreciprocated affection and admiration.

With this image I was aiming to illustrate the emotions that an ostracized creature might feel. To me, this image is very sad.

The New Website, and Graduation!

2009-05-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

Check out the new mattsartain.com. It's just launched today, packed with some new images and a new look. You'll also notice it's simpler, and doesn't have the annoying "edu" stamp on the bottom... know why? cause I graduated!

I now have a Masters of Photography from The Academy of Art University.

Suppose it's time to move on to the next stage of life. It's a bit funny when you're 25 and you've spent your entire life in school... never really taken a break... it's a mixed bag of feelings when you're trying to make sense of it all. I sure am glad to be done with school because I have felt for a little while now that I've learned what I came there to learn and I've been ready to graduate for some time. That being said the university has offered me invaluable help towards defining my style and approach to photography.

The most important step now is to get my book in the hands of as many people as possible. My portfolios are printed and I don't expect them to just sit in my apartment. Now that my focus on my final project and the task of finishing the responsibilities of a master's degree are complete, things are a bit simpler, the only focus now is getting work.

It's a new frontier!

The Novelist

2009-04-26T16:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a new shot for my portfolio. I've been sitting on this one for a while while I worked on some other things. I posted the behind the scenes shots for this a couple months ago. This image illustrates the task of compiling a life's work. Some of us have a heavy urge to leave something behind and this gentlemen is working very seriously on his.

The Balloon Ride!

2009-04-15T17:11:00.001-07:00

Here's a shot I've finished recently. It's the story of two young orphans who've snuck out at night only to discover a very curious character who's beckoning them to join him on a wonderful sky adventure.

just an update..

2009-03-06T07:58:00.001-08:00

So I've been a little absent around here while I've been working out there. I've got a few new shots that I've been working on that will be updated on here and my website in a little bit. I'm going on a trip of the south west and I'll surely come back with lots of assets like sky's and clouds and mountains and deserts.

There's been some more attention and awards for my images recently. I got 4th place in Photographer's Forum Best of College Photography Contest and was inducted into the Nikon Emerging Photographer's Hall of Fame. I'm a finalist in Digital Photo Pro's Emerging Pro competition, still waiting to hear back from that one. Also got an honorable mention in PDN EDU contest.

An another note HOW magazine came to me to do a feature on my work as they are highlighting work from young creatives. The issue won't come out till July but I'll mention it again when it does.

Until next time, thanks for checking out my work and supporting me. The comments are always appreciated and I love that there are people out there that like my work enough to follow this blog and stop in and say hi from time to time. Thanks a bunch, I really appreciate it.

In earnest,

Matt

Sunny On A Rainy Day (Behind the Scenes)

2009-02-10T13:51:00.001-08:00

Here's a behind the scenes look at a recent photo shoot. Thanks to Chris and John for sticking it out in the rain!

The Miracle

2009-01-16T15:40:00.000-08:00

Here's a new shot. It's the story of a man once crippled by an affliction. He's found himself miraculously healed and able to walk again - and in his elated state - starts to dance. Perhaps it's a glimpse within the desperate imagination of someone still bed ridden, or maybe it's the real deal. What do you think?

Interview and Feature in DPI Magazine

2009-01-08T12:40:00.001-08:00

I was featured in a great Taiwanese magazine called DPI. It was a lovely spread so I'm going to share it with you guys. There's even a shot o' my mug!

I've added the interview below, so please enjoy!

1. When I see these pictures, somehow I associated the scene with circus, but what or who would influence and inspire you in creation most?

This project originated with the idea that I wanted to illustrate strange people on a long and epic journey to find a place to belong. Originally I photographed real people, as they were. The people I chose were unusual and some of them did come from the circus but it wasn’t until I began creating fictitious characters that the project became more about my imagination and less about my observation.
The idea of the circus always symbolized a runaway fantasy – a troupe of gypsies that live a strange and wild life. I understand how people can feel like they don’t fit in and I wanted to show people on a journey as they search for a place to call home.

2. What is the first consideration when you do the composition?

I always start with the biggest, grandest idea and then, if needed, dumb it down to a level at which I can actually produce. Being able to shoot things separately has really opened up a lot of creative opportunity and has altered how I imagine images. It is also very challenging to make sure that the things that are not really together end up looking like they belong. I don’t want any of my images to look fake – the real fantasy is only achieved when you think what you are seeing is real.

3. In most of your works, the people are facing wild nature view alone, any particular meaning of it?

There are many reasons for this but mostly the idea of the wilderness is there to illustrate the journey. I love adventure and often adventure takes place outside the safety of civilization and the adventurers must face the unknown wilds of the wilderness. There are a lot of images of people alone because often times the most important journeys must be taken alone.

4. What is your design process? (I call it “design” because what you do is not only taking photos, but creating scene of stories.) Do you ever reflect real story happened around you to photos? If so, can you share the most impressed one to us?

I usually make a rough sketch of the layout and then identify what elements are needed. I need to figure out what can be shot at the scene and what needs to be shot later. Sometimes the photographs are one shoot, with little Photoshop, and sometimes the photographs are completely fabricated using dozens of different shots.
Most of the ideas of these images come from wanting to illustrate some sort of symbolism. All of the images illustrate concepts and ideas, for example The Pack Rat illustrates the struggle of the journey while carrying a heavy load. The load can be memories, regrets, or even material possessions – it can all way you down.

5. Besides photography, what are your interests else? Are they involved and plus to your work?

Besides photography I am also a musician in a band that is lucky enough to travel the country. This helps me because I get to see a lot of different places on tour and I always bring my camera. I am currently working on an image that is a stormy seascape where I’ll be using the clouds and sky from a thunder storm that I shot while in New Mexico.

6. So far which is your favorite personal work? Why?

I don’t have a favorite because I always know that I will improve and usually I can find faults in my work. I am always trying to make sure that I keep pushing myself for better work so I don’t want to ever be too satisfied with myself.
If I did have favorites the two that stand out to me are The Librarian, because the person in the shot is a great friend of mine and it illustrates him perfectly, and The Birder because it is a very old shot and I am not sick of it yet.

7. What is your dream?

I’m not sure. I have a lot of dreams I think. I want to keep elevating my photography until it reaches a point where I am competing with the best photographers in the world. I want to work enough so I can retire at a young age and help support my parents and family. I want to direct commercials and movies. Go on a safari. Create a charity. Make a children’s book. Own a castle on an island. Have a farm with a lot of dogs. Be in school forever and earn a degree in everything. Make some sort of lasting difference that has a positive effect on people. Lots of stuff! I’d like to be a respected, well liked and decent human being that people are happy to know.

More Asian Love

2009-01-08T12:26:00.000-08:00

Here's a link to something awesome. More hilarious translations, scroll to the bottom. My personal favorite is "In fable sofa very good picture ha ha"

On the cover of CMYK

2008-12-18T12:03:00.000-08:00

Check out the current issue (42) of CMYK. My shot's on the cover!

The Shipwreck

2008-12-16T09:44:00.000-08:00

I'm putting some of the finishing touches on The Shipwreck, a new shot for my portfolio. I was lucky to have Mark Holthusen in the studio with me to give me some pointers. Mark works a lot in the studio and he points out how nice it is to have the time and control to do what you need to do. When you have that much control over all the stages of the photograph you can really take your time and be proud of what you create.

Most of the work I do is shot on location, and in my internship with Mark we've been discussing the process of composite shooting within the studio. When I had my internship with Erik Almas we discussed the pros and cons of studio-for-composite shooting and it seemed like something that I wanted to steer clear from for a while, but now that I've sort of learned where and when it's a good thing it's become something that I'm pretty excited about. Basically the cons are feet. When you shoot in the studio the feet never really match the ground.

Ways to avoid this? 1) Use the studio for shots where you don't see the feet. 2) Bring whatever the ground is in the shot to the studio (grass, sand, etc). 3) Be really good at retouching and have the feet be a small element in the frame and hope it doesn't get on the cover of a magazine.

In my experiences shooting outside I always shot the person on the ground they were going to be composited into. This way you don't cut out their feet but rather a big space around them. Then you have all kinds of room to blend and no ones the wiser.

Pros to shooting in studio? Lots.

Really the biggest advantage of shooting in the studio is time. I spend a lot of time and effort trying to get a crew on top of a mountain at sun down. Think how nice it will be when I can just go off on my own and scout and shoot locations and then go to the studio to shoot the subjects. Of course it's just another thing to harness, you really have to be careful when doing so much compositing, you don't want that stuff to look fake. There's nothing quite like shooting everything in camera, but it's nice to know your limits, as well as the limits to what will look acceptable. An appropriate step in determining when and where to use the different step is knowing how to do it all. Once you know how to do it any which way, then you can choose the most appropriate method to achieve the means.

Doing well in Asia/Poetic Translation/Fake vs. Real

2008-12-02T20:59:00.000-08:00

So, after having my work at the Pingyao International Photography Festival in China this year I've gotten a lot of attention from different Asian countries. It's kind of random and unexpected but it seems that the Far East is a fan of what I do - I've had hundreds of hits on my website from South Korea and the Taiwanese magazine DPI is doing a feature on me that will include some images and an interview. I got a great response from my images from the PIP festival and it led to this. Cool huh?

There's something sort of magical about the horrible language translations that Babel Fish provides. I've noticed it especially when it's Asian languages to English. There's something about the phrasing and language that I really like. Maybe it's just more direct, more to the core meaning of words, or just closer to the denotation of the words. Maybe that's it, maybe the translations neglect any sort of connotation with the way we speak English conversationally. Whatever it is it can be really poetic sometimes in a random and surprising way. I like it.

With that in mind - here are some comments some people made from that website I just linked. I've translated the interview/comment page using Babel Fish and I like reading the translation because somehow when things are translated it creates something in the English language that no English speaking person would be able to write. It's sort of unique and interesting.

Oh, there's a bit of criticism by someone who thinks they've noticed some "mistakes". It's always my mission, when working so post intensive and with so much compositing, to make things look as real as possible - that's when the fantasy can take over, after the viewer is convinced it looks possible - but it's funny that the things he points out as looking unreal (besides the comment about the plane which I have to tastefully disagree with on a conceptual basis) are actually real and captured in camera. Funny how that works huh? Now that we've gotten so use to seeing compositing and retouching we don't believe anything for being real anymore.

Without even opening the can of worms of real vs. fake, photoshop vs. in camera, etc. I've noticed that there are plenty of times when shots that are real and captured in camera somehow end up looking "photoshopped" or "fake" before any post work is done. This was brought to my attention by Adam Moore in a conversation we had about these ideas. He pointed it out that it's always happened but now that we're so saturated with retouching we just always assume it's fake. Maybe photoshop has killed those really interesting and accidental or random moments when things were photographed in a way that gave something a really magical and surreal look. Maybe that look that used to be ineffable is now dismissed as being "photoshopped".

I guess the real question is whether or not any of that stuff matters. For me, personally, the final image is what matters. I don't care how it got there, what materials were used, if there was photoshop or not, the only thing that matters is the final image. So take that, nay saying Chinese guy!

Winsor McCay

2008-11-30T13:55:00.001-08:00

I purchased a lovely book of Winsor McCay that chronicles the entire journey of Little Nemo in Slumberland. I really love the world McCay created in these stories. It's magical AND old timey, zing!

I did a shot a while back with him in mind.

Or, the Whale

2008-11-30T13:28:00.001-08:00

Here is a shot I did for the San Francisco alt/country band Or, the Whale.

Mama Told Me Not To Brag...

2008-11-26T11:03:00.001-08:00

but I've been told more than a few times to make sure people know about my accomplishments. So, here goes - just a list, short and sweet of my accomplishments as of yet:

Best of Show - Academy of Art University Spring Show 2008

1st Place - Adobe Design Achievement Awards 2008 - Photography Category

Solo Exhibition - Pingyao International Photography Festival 2008, Pingyao China

1st Place - PIX Digital Imaging Contest 2008 - New Talent

Published on the Cover of CMYK Magazine - Aspiring Creatives Vol. 42

The Blog Begins

2008-11-23T18:10:00.000-08:00

Hello.

This is my blog, the first one I've ever had. I started it mostly for the same reason other photographer's I know started one - to have a place where you can put up work and ideas that don't quite make it to the end of the road but still have a bit of merit. Also I figured this might serve as a sort of appendix to my website; it will be a place for me to write about the image making process as well as the regular going's on with my photography and where it sometimes ends up.

I do mean to warn you that I might not update this blog in any sort of frequent manner but I intend to add anything that seems relevant or interesting.

For example I might just provide a link to a friend or two or maybe just something irrelevent but awesome.

For now I think I'll start it off with a link to an image I shot for The New York Times Magazine. I was supposed to illustrate a very uncool, yet effective teacher. The toilet paper behind him illustrated his uncoolness while the stacks of apples illustrated his success as a teacher. It was a great time and I was glad to be a part of the magazine.

That's all for now. Till next time.

In earnest,

Matt

By the way - this blog title has nothing to do with the 1978 Christopher Walken western film of the same name, but it looks pretty sweet and I'm going to have to rent it.