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Subcribe to comment rss feedElegance and intrigue through the lens
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.
This past summer, I embarked on a 35-day journey to hike 500 miles and climb 30 mountains along the Colorado Trail. On this journey, I spent a great deal of time reflecting on the meaning of life, how to find a greater purpose and other heavy philosophical questions. I also tried to find a way to think through how, if at all, photography intersects with such existential pondering. One conclusion I stumbled upon was that photography can be a fantastic gateway and vehicle through which these questions can be answered for each person if one chooses.
The subject of today’s essay embodies this idea, not only through her photography but how she engages with others online. Suzanne Mathia is a photographer born and raised amidst the rolling green hills of the English countryside but now finds solace and inspiration from her home in the desert southwest of the United States. Suzanne has always impressed me as a person and a photographer, so I feel very grateful to be able to write about her and her work. Suzanne is an expert in Adobe Lightroom and always takes the time to generously answer even the most mundane questions from people in her social media circles. She also creates wonderful artwork through the lens by combining feminine elegance with mystery and intrigue. Her photography leverages her insatiable curiosity to discover nature’s hidden beauty and provides viewers with the space to take a deep dive into nature. Let’s examine how these variables help Suzanne stand out amongst her peers.