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Matt Payne

Matt Payne is a landscape photographer and mountain climber from Durango, Colorado. He’s the host of the weekly landscape photography podcast, “F-Stop Collaborate and Listen,” co-founder of the Nature First Photography Alliance, and co-founder of the Natural Landscape Photography Awards. He lives with his wife, Angela, his son Quinn, and his four cats, Juju, Chara, Arrow, and Vestal.

mattpaynephotography.com

In 2018, while working with several other photographers to forge the beginnings of the Nature First Photography Alliance from the home of my friends Sarah Marino & Ron Coscorossa, I had the pleasure of being introduced to the work of QT Luong vis-à-vis his book, Treasured Lands, which was prominently featured on Sarah & Ron’s coffee table. The impact that QT Luong’s work had on me was immediate and lasting. There’s certainly something to be said for holding a substantial 400-page book of someone’s photographic works in your hands, regardless of the contents; however, in the case of QT Luong, the work within held special meaning and purpose, which immediately impressed me.

QT Luong was the first person to photograph all 62 National Parks, an impressive feat on its own right; however, he did so with a large format film camera – all with the goal to educate his audience on the historical relevance of the National Parks as well as the importance of their conservation purpose. As if this was not impressive enough, in 2021, QT Luong followed that effort up with a 300-page book focused on 27 of the United States’ National Monuments, titled, Our National Monuments – America’s Hidden Gems. QT Luong partnered with the talented photographer Ian Shive, who provided text and images relating to the Marine National Monuments described within the book.