Matt Makara

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Matt is a multi-format photographer who utilizes digital, film and historic photographic processes to capture the natural world. He has an affinity for photographing trees and water, often while hiking, and enjoys experimenting with numerous techniques to inform and expand his creative process. In this series, titled, “Painting with My Camera,” Matt has created images with the intent of emulating the look of water color paintings, with the subjects being beach scenes at various times of day.

This series did not begin with planned intention. Rather, it began as a spur of the moment thought while walking home on the beach at sunset. After taking what would be considered more straightforward pictures of the scene, the thought of “this scene looks like a painting” turned into the question of, “could I take a picture that actually makes this look like a painting?” The result of this impromptu moment can be seen in the first image of this series, “Sunset – Fall #1.” From this initial moment, Matt has continued to experiment with his process by adjusting speed and movement, and this gallery consists of 30 select images of scenes taken from dawn through dusk and during different seasons.

Matt is based in Mclean, VA, though his images represent many locations both domestically and abroad. More images from this series can be seen on his website, www.mattmakaraphoto.com.