Meet Photographer Suzanne Mathia
My name is Suzanne Mathia. I’ve been photographing most of my adult life. There have been times when life had other ideas, such as raising kids and making money in corporate world. But once my children were out on their own and thriving, I quit my ridiculously well-paying corporate job (but it was a stifling job) and decided to become a full time landscape photographer. That was over 14 years ago.
My goal when I first decided to go professional and give up my corporate job was okay, if I can make it last a year, I’ll be good. Or if I can make it last two years, I’ll be good. So far, I’ve managed to make it last 14 years, which is unbelievable.
How Would You Describe Your Photography Style?
I describe myself primarily as a landscape and nature photographer, but I’ll point my camera at anything I find interesting. If I’m not out in the landscape and not doing nature, I’m doing water drops and smoke and, you know, still life and sort of anything that I find interesting, shadows and lights and all sorts of things.
So whatever, whatever my camera and my mind finds interesting, that’s what I’ll photograph.
When Did You Know Photography Would Be an Integral Part of Your Life?
Both my parents were artists, and they became artists actually, later in life. My father was always interested in photography. He was rather prim and proper and conventionally quiet Englishman, but photography became a great way for us to communicate.
So I’ve always had an interest in taking pictures, but I didn’t have the opportunity to really take it seriously or refine my craft till later in life as well. And then once I treated myself to a photo workshop with Arizona Highways, actually, and went on a couple of trips with like minded people, I realized that photography would become a big part of my life.
What Inspires You?
I’m inspired by nature and the love of the wilderness.
When my two boys were young, we’d spend a lot of time camping, fishing and hiking and just enjoying life in the great outdoors, but once they were on their own, I craved those adventures that we used to share, and found photography to be a great excuse to get out and explore and be creative and be inspired by nature.
What Advice Do You Have for Other Photographers About Staying Inspired?
Well, I think the best thing to do is just to explore nearby places. A lot of us spend a lot of time trying to travel to far away places and do some extreme things, but sometimes just exploring right in your own neighborhood can be a really interesting way to stay inspired try new genres.
I’m a landscape and nature photographer, but I also love to do anything else, like water drops or smoke or, you know, still life, or something interesting like that. This year, I’ve gotten into doing wildlife and birds in flight, and so that’s sort of increased my inspiration for doing photography.
You can join a community. It could be like a meet up group or a camera club, and sometimes that can help get you inspired.
I think for me, I’ve noticed that sometimes you can just take a break. You don’t have to be constantly inspired all the time. Sometimes a good way is to just step away from things for a while and just kind of recharge.
Another thing I like to do is draw from other art forms, like it doesn’t have to be photography. Could be painting your music, film, visiting a museum, reading a good book. I really enjoy watching films with real strong visual style, and that can bring ideas for my photography as well.
I watch the movies and I don’t really pay attention to the story or what it is or who it is. I’m looking at the cinematography. Oftentimes I’ll stop, you know, and just sort of stop the film and say, Oh, that’s, you know, that’s a great composition right there. Or I think I’d move it over to the left a bit more, or over to the right a little bit more. So I’m constantly doing that.
What Makes a Great Picture Stand Out from an Average One?
Well, the first thing I would say would be impact. Especially now when we’re dealing with social media and we’re just scrolling through.
Most of my social media is photography and art. So I’m scrolling through and there’s some nice things and some not so nice things, and I’m just scrolling along, and then every once in a while, you just get something that, what I call is a scroll stopper.
It just stops you in your tracks. And that’s just an image that has impact for whatever reason.
It could be the lighting, it could be the composition, it could be a very familiar scene, an iconic place that’s just taken in a very interesting way. And it just makes it unique. When you’re scrolling through and something makes you stop and look a second time, a third time, and then you realize that’s an image that you could live with on your wall for a long Time. That’s the stuff that really gets my attention.
When You Take a Photograph are You Thinking About What it Will Look Like Printed?
Definitely! The end goal for me is always holding that final print.
From from seeing an image, trying to capture the image, post processing the image, and then all the way to literally holding a print in your hand is really what makes photography special. I think if you leave out the print, you’re leaving out the best step of the whole thing.
I always tell my students that I think that holding a print and being able to print beautifully makes you a better post processor, which makes you a better photographer, and by keeping the final print in mind throughout shooting and editing, you’ll create prints that look not only great on the screen, but truly shine when they’re in the physical world.
What Camera Do You Use?
Well, I’m a Canon girl. I always have been and always will be.
Camera styles and camera makes, they kind of just play with each other through the years. Some are better than others. Some models are better than others. Some rise to the top, some fall down below.
I’ve always taken my images with Canon, and so needless to say, I have a collection of lenses that I’m not ready to give up. The Canon cameras and the Canon lenses now are to the point that I really wouldn’t want to trade for anything else. So I have a good collection of really great glass and a really great camera.
I photograph now with a R5 which is the mirrorless camera. I originally thought I would go to mirrorless just for wildlife, but honestly, I’ve used it for my primary camera now 100% because it’s the technology in the new mirrorless cameras is just amazing.
Is There Any Other Special Gear You Use?
Well, I would say being a landscape and nature photographer, a really good tripod is is 100% must have.
Lacking a tripod can cause you problems. A flimsy tripod can cause you a lot of problems, and a tripod that doesn’t cooperate with you can cause a lot of problems. So having having a good, solid, easy to maneuver tripod, I would say would be number one.
Number two, I would say, would be an what they call an L bracket, which is a bracket that fits onto your camera, which allows you to go from a horizontal perspective to a vertical perspective very quickly and easily, and that just makes compositions for, you know, magazine covers and calendars and you know, just changing your composition a little bit in the field just makes it that much easier.
Anything that makes your life easier is going to make you a better photographer.
What Made You Choose ArtisanHD as Your Print Partner?
Well, the main reason I chose ArtisanHD initially was the fact that they’re right here in Scottsdale, where I live, so that was a great advantage for me, because I can go and I can see the prints, I can sign the prints, I can look at the prints under various lighting conditions.
And, you know, just have that communication with the printer, which was just really vital. I’ve worked with printers in other locations, and they’ve been fine, but just having that hands on local communication has been the absolute best.
After working with ArtisanHD for a while, I appreciate the quality of the materials and the inks, the color accuracy, the attention to detail, and I think the most important thing is just the consistency. I can rely on them. I know that they’re going to have reliable results.
I can drop ship to my customers without having to worry about the quality and the customer support and the knowledge of the staff gives me the best results that I could hope for.
Which Piece of Your Work is Your Favorite?
Favorites are hard, and they’ll change weekly.
My favorite shot is the one I haven’t taken yet. You know, that’s a classic line, but it’s true.
I’m heading out to the swamps of Texas next week and looking forward to taking some really interesting images out there.
But I suppose my favorite ones are the ones that became magazine covers or calendar covers, or especially those ones that have been massively enlarged for corporate installations. I’ve got a massive image at the Grand Canyon conservancy up at the Grand Canyon South Rim, which is wonderful. So seeing those you know, enlarged and you know, like 2030, feet long, has been pretty amazing.
Some of my personal favorites are the ones that have stories to them.
I don’t have a lot of wall space at home, but with the wall space that I have, I have printed on acrylic a couple of images that really stand out to me. One of them is the Death Valley dunes. At sunrise, I went out very early one morning and just climbed to the top of the highest dune and waited for the sunrise. As the sun came up, I could see my footprints in the sand going all the way down to the area that I first started and that’s just become one of my favorite images, because it it evokes a story and a time that I really enjoyed being out in the wilderness. And the image itself turned out to be really spectacular.
It Sounds Like Being a Photographer Requires a lot of Patience
A lot of people think that when they they look at a photographer’s images, that they just arrived at the place, got out of the car, walked a few feet and took the perfect image. Unfortunately, that’s not the way it works.
I spend a lot of time photographing in the southwest, so I have probably been to the Grand Canyon 100 times – North Rim, South Rim, all the various seasons, early in the morning, late at night. It just takes that perseverance and persistence and and just the ability to enjoy doing what you’re doing, to be out there and create some beautiful images.
Sometimes you don’t come back with 100 gorgeous images. You might come back with one, or you might come back with none at all, but it’s just the idea of just being out there and trying to make some magic with what you’re given.
Do You Have Advice for Photographers Trying to Develop Their Own Distinct Style?
Well, style is an interesting thing, and it should come organically. You really can’t force a style onto yourself. You really just need to grow as a photographer, set yourself like personal projects, to do, critique your own work, you know, and get a little bit better with your own work.
If you try and force a style, it just it doesn’t work. You end up just applying presets and various color grading and things to your image to make it consistent. But that’s not necessarily a personal style. You need to kind of clarify your voice and your artistic message a little bit, and that usually comes with time.
There are photographers that as soon as I see one of their images in my my social media feed, I know immediately whose image it is. Not because of what they took or where they were – it’s how they took it and what their particular style was, and eventually that will come to the surface.
Any Advice for Photographers Who Want to Push Themselves Further?
I think surrounding yourself with great photographers is the best thing. That’s what I’ve done.
My best friends are photographers. Some of them are beginner photographers that have a very unique style and a very unique view, which is fascinating to watch. Some of the photographers that I hang out with are sage, experienced photographers that have been doing this for 30, 40, or 50 years. I learn as much from them as I do from the new photographers.
The other thing to do is leave yourself open to new styles and gaining new insights. It could be taking a workshop or going on a trip with friends, or going to a place that you maybe haven’t been before, and just expand your expand your vision, and think outside the box a little bit.
Why Do You Think Photography is Important?
For me, personally, it helps me be present and observe the details and the moments that I might not have noticed.
I always think that it is sad for people who aren’t artists or photographers, because they probably go through the world not seeing all the things that we see as artists. Maybe it’s lights and shadows or forms and shapes that otherwise would go unnoticed.
I think being a photographer also fosters like a sense of gratitude and appreciation for the world around me. It makes me want to get out there. Makes me want to sit and watch a sunrise, or sit and watch a sunset, or just hike to a place I haven’t been before and discover something new.
So for me, it’s it’s incredibly important, and it captures those moments in time that I probably wouldn’t notice before.
You can check out more of Suzanne Mathia’s work on her website suzannemathiaphotography.com or follow her on Instagram @smathiaphoto.
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