Matt Suess – Dramatic Landscape Photography

Essay by Matt Suess

I have been asked countless times, “Wow, what type of camera do you use?”, or “Must be some camera that you have”. or “My camera doesn’t take pictures like that”, etc. One time in particular, a gentleman was looking at my work in my booth at an art show and said something along the lines of, “Sure must be a great camera you have to get these great pictures”.

I looked at him for a moment, and responded with a smile, “No. Actually, it was some great photographer who did this.” The expression on his face gave me the feeling that he was thinking that I was trying to pull one over on him, and he smiled while responding, “Sure, but it still bust have been a great camera!” He was fully expecting me to reply, “Yes, you caught me – I have the best camera in the world and that is the only reason why these prints look so good.”

My actual response was, “I am sorry, but it is not just the camera. In fact I can produce beautiful work with any camera, even yours.” His smile dropped and he looked me in the eyes and said, “Come on, you use a Hasselblad.” I replied, “I am sorry to tell you that you are wrong, but you are wrong. I do not use a Hasselblad camera.” At this point, the conversation was over – he thought I was flat out lying to him and the only reason why I have the quality I have was because I used a Hasselblad camera.

What this individual was not able to comprehend is that the camera is just one of many tools for the photographer. It is not the end all, be all.

Is it the high end kitchen utensils that popular chef Emeril uses that makes his dishes so renown? Take him into your kitchen. Would he be able to produce a meal far superior to yours using your own utensils – utensils that may not be the “best in the industry”?

Part of the misconception of, “the better the camera, the better the photo,” comes from the basic fact that nowadays just about everybody has a camera. Everyone has experience taking photos. And yes, everyone takes some photos that perhaps they even surprise themselves with by the way the print turns out. But not as many prints come out as great as they would like. What’s the most obvious thing to blame – their technique? No. It is definitely the camera that took the bad photo. The print doesn’t look anything like what they remember. They assume if they purchased a better, more expensive camera, they would get better photos.

So they buy a more expensive camera and find that, yes, they are now sometimes getting better pictures. Camera quality, at this basic level of photography experience, does indeed play an important factor. Their logical conclusion is: the better the camera the better the print.

"Serenity at Scorton Creek" - Cape Cod, Mass. Over 20 hours of work in my digital darkroom went into the making of this fine art print.

What these individuals do not understand is that, sometimes, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to photography and fine art prints. The camera is simply a tool – a very important one at times for sure – but it is just one of many variables that come into play when producing a fine art print of the utmost quality. The real “magic” comes from the printing. It is with the printing that the artist’s intent fully comes to life. The camera is just a tool used to move one along the path towards the final destination that is the print. A bad print from a Hasselblad can be worse than a good print from a cell phone camera.

I am selling the final print – I am not selling based on the camera I used. If I “fooled” someone into thinking that I used a Hasselblad, is it now all of a sudden an inferior print once known a Hasselblad wasn’t used?

Is it worth less?

Maybe it should be worth more!!

Printing is the most important part of the process for me, and the part that consumes the most amount of time. Countless hours of work go into each and every one of my prints. While there are some images I am able to print with only a few hours of work, others have taken months (not continuous, fortunately) to produce a print I am completely satisfied with. I even have one photo that I worked on, from time to time, over the course of a full year before I was satisfied with the print!

I wasn’t bothered by that gentleman walking out of my booth convinced, in his own beliefs, that I simply had a “really good” camera. In fact, it was a compliment to my printing, technique, experience, composition, vision, creativity, and, the least of which, the camera I used. A great camera is not going to make a great photographer.

I will write future articles discussing the methods and procedures I use in doing my own printing. For those not interested in that, and only want to focus on the camera I use, I will tell you that I currently use a Canon 5D Mark II camera. It is a 21 megapixel digital camera. It’s not a top of the line camera, nor is it a bottom of the line camera. But boy, you should see the pictures this camera takes…

July 2006, Revised August 2009

I just recently completed two wonderful photo expeditions to remote areas in Northern Arizona and Southern Utah that provided me with breathtaking views and amazing photos. But they also left me disappointed in the utter disregard some people have with respect to the land.

Granted, there are major problems in this world regarding pollution and damage to the environment on a global scale. That is not the purpose of this article, which focuses on the smaller, more localized problems that can be attributed to individuals rather than entire populations. While not as grand in scale, these issues are equally important.

In April of this year I spent a third of the month in the wilderness both car camping and backpacking. In nearly every location I visited, there were signs of human tampering be it candy wrappers, cigarette butts, toilet paper, glass, food, right down to trampled vegetation, car/atv “donuts” in the  ground (caused by intentionally spinning the rear of the vehicle in a circle pattern), and more.

All of these problems were found in remote areas – places that very few people get the chance to see due to the difficulty in getting there and/or the fact that they are not well known yet. I say “yet” because in the internet age, it is only a matter of time before previous “hidden” locations become well known and heavily traveled, making this article even more important. Popular locations have even greater problems with trash and human scarring.

I spent a total of three nights on two separate occasions in April camping at one of these small, “hidden” locations in Northern Arizona. The remoteness of this area will hopefully slow the damage already started by those who have been here simply because many people will not be able to get to this location. Miles and miles of deep sand, rugged roads, and no cell phone coverage make this a very hazardous location to travel to. Inexperienced and unprepared drivers who try to visit often find themselves stuck, causing even more damage to the area.

These ATV drivers could find a more appropriate place to park than where they did!

This past Friday night and Saturday morning my wife Marci and I had this place to ourselves. But just before noon, some 20 people on 14 ATV’s stopped here for lunch. Rather than parking in an open area just a couple hundred yards from the entrance – an area that is ideal for parking – they all proceeded to park off the sand and on the sandstone rock formation itself! An area which I have also seen tour vehicles parked.

Unfortunately, this entrance to an amazing landscape has been permanently scarred by engine oil as well as tire marks and scraps from car undercarriages. It is also too easy to find pieces of trash here as well. Marci and I spent time picking up the trash we found – some of which was definitely from the lunch group.

This large oil spill leaves it's permanent mark at the entrance.

Later that day five SUV’s arrived and decided to camp near us in the parking area. They fortunately did not drive their cars up on the rock entrance. But they did their own damage by driving their SUV’s all over the hill along the back of the parking area – an area where no other tire tracks existed before they got there – all so that they could set up a tarp connected to 3 of their cars. One driver took his SUV straight to the top of the small hill driving over lots of vegetation, just to unload his tent and supplies, then drove right back down.

In the desert plants and vegetation can take years to recover from human damage. Items such as toilet paper and wrappers do not break down and decompose like they might in wetter environments. Trash left in the desert will be there for a long, long time.

The only way these pieces of metal and plastic will disappear for good is if someone removes them...

...Marci and I did just that.

While the issues discussed here seem small – a wrapper here, some tissue there – with more people visiting these areas the trash and damage will add up fast if no one does anything about it.

We all need to do our own part to keep the areas we visit clean and trampled-on as little as possible. It is very simple and easy to do, and all it involves is a little common sense and a quick look around before you leave.

Refrain from making your own roads and trails while driving and consider where you park. Be aware of what you are stepping on – sandstone and vegetation can be equally fragile. Pick up your own trash and even trash you find that is not your own.

Everyone needs to do their part to protect these delicate environments so that others can enjoy these wonders and landscapes in their natural form – free from human contamination.

May 2007

"Land Before Time"