matt's pictures

back on the air

This is “@photomattmills”:http://twitter.com/photomattmills, back on the air. The extened hiatus owes to my lack of a personal computer these past two months. I changed jobs, and the new employer has clauses in the contract about who owns what I produce on company equipment… anyway, I needed my own rig. I’ve completely forgotten where I was in the flow of editing and producing blog posts, so excuse me if I repeat myself. The new gig is super sweet. I’m learning a crap ton, which is great, and my co-workers and bosses are all pretty chill. To hold you over while I’m getting my shit together, and so you’ll know I’m actually alive, here’s a shot from our last camping trip. It’s the last star field I took, and the only one that’s even remotely sharp (although at 100% there’s still a little motion).

Posted on 2013-10-19T22:29:15Z GMT

Barbeque on the Jackpot

This was also the day that the Jillpot launched for the first time. I burned meat on the back of the boat, there were many drinks, and someone (unpictured) decided to take a swim in the bay.

Posted on 2013-08-29T22:12:38Z GMT

some photos while you wait

I’m writing a longer piece about caring in photography that I hope I’ll have done before the weekend, but while that’s still in progress, here are some photos.

Posted on 2013-08-28T19:09:04Z GMT

a weekend

So, about a week after I got back, we got together on the boat for something. It may have been Fallon’s birthday. Anyway, there was some drinking, followed by some sleeping, and then a ride to Sacremento to meet Fallon’s dad, where, for some reason, there was a person in a Bear suit that didn’t want to pose for a photo. The second to last photo is something I’ve been experimenting with, calling them ‘awkward compositions’. The idea is to take the natural composition, what I would instinctively do, and throw everything just a little off. So, instead of perfect thirds, you get half sky, half ground, and a line (the gaurdrail) going trough in the center. It’s an attempt to break out of my habits, more or less, and still make good photos. It’s hard to break habits that you’ve had for more than a decade; I’ve been a photographer longer than I’ve been anything else. I want to stay fresh, give myself challenges. I’ve been thinking of assignments beyond little composition exercises (which, after all, are just foreplay, practice for the main event). I don’t know where I’m going with this, but I’m going somewhere.