mattwright at gmail
512.296.6495 - cell
Approach to Photography
Like the Hungarian-born photographer Andre Kertesz, I am working to refine a style that I hope retains the best elements of its amateur roots.
Professionally, most of my published work accompanies stories I wrote, notably in the Washington Post and Texas Observer. The opportunities to shoot have been less frequent in S.F. since I no longer work as a reporter. Instead I've concentrated on fine art photography, especially through galleries like the Rayko Photo Center, which seek to make high-quality photography accessible to the general public. In the end, I just hope that photography never ceases to surprise me.
My other big hobby is food, in particular the pursuit of ever-more-delicious breakfast tacos. That's going to be a little harder out West.
Exhibits
2008
"Cowboys and Presidents" — Museum of the American West, Autry Center, Los Angeles, CA
Clients
The Washington Post (Example one, two)
The Texas Observer (Example one, two)
The Boston Globe
Austinist
The Temple Daily Telegram
Jane Magazine
Deadspin
NewWest.net
Numerous blogs
Various projects for Enspire Learning
Study Breaks
ATX Magazine
The Texas Travesty
Digital Art Photography for Dummies
Bio
I picked up photography as a hobby in high school and kept shooting through college, setting up a darkroom in my apartment when time permitted. After college I upgraded to a point-and-shoot digital, which I used on assignments at the Temple Daily Telegram. At a particularly dull oversized-check presentation in a Wal-Mart distribution center, I took a picture that eventually ran in the Boston Globe. The editor who bought the photo encouraged me to get more ambitious, and I did.
Going way back, I was born and raised in Texas. I went to the University of Texas at Austin, graduating in 2004 with a couple liberal arts degrees after studying computers for a couple years. After graduating, I worked for a year as the education reporter at the Temple Daily Telegram. I moved back to Austin a year latery to try professional photography. Shot some corporate work and weddings; found it less than satisfying and rather bank-breaking. In 2006 I landed an assistant's gig with the Post and convinced them to let me shoot a little. At the beginning of 2007, I joined the Observer as a blogger. When the Post closed down its Austin bureau that summer, I decided to move to San Francisco. Who knows what's next?
Gear
Canon 20d
- 35mm f2.0 (Canon)
- 50mm f1.8 (Canon)
- 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 kit (Canon)
- 75-300mm f4.5-5.6 telephoto zoom (Canon)
Carl Zeiss Ikon vintage rangefinder
Panasonic DMC-LC33
Minolta XG-1 vintage film body
- 50mm f1.4 (Minolta)
Canon Elan IIe
Holga
Strobe kit
(In Memoriam)
Pentax Optio Wpi (waterproof)
Pentax Optio 550
Epic, Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany, 2008
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