Hi I’m Matt I’m 36 years old and currently work as a photographer which is my passion. I also work for the local fire service and am a qualified personal trainer.
My goals are to secure my images on front covers of surfing magazines. As well as maintaining a successful gallery which will give me the opportunity to sell lots of my images to people who can benefit from them.
I got into photography four or five years ago. I started out using my GoPro and shooting videos both in and out of the water, from which I would capture the best moments and use them as still images. This enhanced my fascination for water photography and led to me buying my first proper camera and I haven’t looked back since.
The cameras I that I use are a Nikon Z6 and a Nikon D850. Both cameras have their differences, giving me the opportunity to take a variety of professional images in many types of conditions. In the ocean, I use several different lenses. It all depends on the surf conditions I’m shooting in, if I can get up close and personal, I’ll use a shorter lens but if I’m further away, the longer lens is used.
I use an AquaTech Elite Water Housing to take all my shots in the ocean. The housing creates a strong waterproof seal between the water and the camera. The cameras Water Housing is just as important as the camera as it’s responsible for keeping the camera safe and keeping the image quality to a professional standard.
When swimming, I use DaFiN Pro Model swim fins. They allow me to have control over where I am in the line-up. Surf Photography is a very hard type of photography to master as it is all about being in the perfect spot at the perfect time. By using these fins, it makes it that bit easier.
I’ve been devoting my time towards my photography by getting out amongst nature and trying to take as many awesome photos as possible. I am preparing for a day down the beach photographing in the sea, aiming to capture unique shots of surfers at my home break and with some fine tuning and editing turn them into works of art.
My favourite thing about photography and Surf Photography in particular is capturing a special moment in the present that will never happen again. Surfing is unique in that every wave and every surfer is different and so no two shots will ever be the same. You feel a sense of achievement and warmth when you get an amazing shot which directly connects you to that moment in time, almost as if you were to pause or freeze a story.