Biography
A professional photographer for 27 years, Matt Suess’ interest in photography began when he was 12 years old and had his own black and white darkroom. Born and raised in Connecticut, Matt carved out a successful career as a photojournalist for 17 years, culminating in his award of the 2003 New England Press Associations Photographer of the Year. In his career he photographed celebrities, U.S. Presidents, professional sports, breaking news events, and more. But when 9/11 occurred and he declined an assignment to cover it, Matt realized his desire for news had passed.
While living on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Matt was inspired by the coastline and started going back to his original passion in photography, which was photographing landscape and nature, and he began selling his artwork at juried art festivals in New England in 2003. During a photo excursion to Arizona in 2006 Matt fell in love with the southwest. Seven months later he gave up his 17 year photojournalism career and moved west to Arizona follow a burning desire to photograph the vast landscapes and dramatic vistas of the Southwest.
In just 10 years Matt has established himself as one of the leading fine art landscape photographers and photo workshop teachers in the area, if not the US. Specializing in large panoramic photographs – some spanning 12 feet – full of bright bold colors, contrast, and detail printed on aluminum, Matt has obtained collectors worldwide. He has exhibited in 8 states out west at such heavily juried shows as La Quinta, Utah Arts Festival, Jackson Hole Art Festival, Indio Arts Festival, and the Crested Butte Art Festival. His main exhibition each year is the prestigious 10-week Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale where he has been showing and selling his fine art photography for the past 3 years.
He is also an accomplished photography educator, teaching via online classes, one-on-one instruction, and field and classroom workshops in some of the most beautiful and dramatic locations in the West.
Matt currently spends his winters in Scottsdale, Arizona and summers in Bozeman, Montana.
Artist Statement & Process
My work is inspired by the West, where I can get up close and personal with Mother Nature’s wide open vistas and staggering mountains. The landscape here challenges me with its diverse contrasts and raw beauty. Intimidating yet captivating, it fuels my soul.
My creative process is twofold. I begin by being out in the field in the right place at the right time. Then, my work moves into the digital darkroom where I can spend weeks or months perfecting the image, bringing it to life. Going beyond the cold, mechanical limitations of the camera, I enhance to share the beauty I experienced through my eyes as well as through my heart.
I bring the best and most stunning moments of Mother Nature to life in my photography through dramatic use of light, color and detail. Even in black & white my work is characterized by rich contrasts. It is through my photography that I can share with the viewer a world of beauty that in today’s fast-paced society can be often overlooked or never even seen.