Matt Suess – Dramatic Landscape Photography

The 10 week Arizona Fine Art Expo officially opened one week ago. Because of our busy schedules of trying to get the finishing touches of the tent set up as well as creating and hanging our own studio space within the Expo Christine and I are now just catching up on our blog.

The final days of set-up included the preparation of the artist’s display walls. This included protecting the carpet, spackling, and painting. We were lucky to have our experienced wall painters Kevin and Michelle Russell come in to work for a couple days in order to complete the task properly and with very little mess (except on them).

With only a couple of days till all the artists come in, the little details proved to be time consuming. Spot painting, sign hanging and parking stakes were added. The carpet was cleaned, the cafe was set up and the grounds were cleaned up as well. Sponsor Pathways Nursery completed the outdoor garden area by adding additional plants, a water fountain, bridges, and larger Koi fish to our beautiful pond.

On January 11, 12, & 13th, the artists began to arrive to begin setting up their individual galleries. With three days to complete the task, the atmosphere and comradery was one of optimism and excitement. Old friends reconnected and new friendships began to develop. Thunderbird Artists CEO Judi Combs did a wonderful job arranging the flowers throughout the Expo while artists busily prepared their studios. Approximately 100 artists will spend the next three months together creating and selling their artwork.

Opening day of the Arizona Fine Art Expo was on January 14th. With 9 weeks to go, make sure you stop by to see some of the best artists around. The Expo is open every day from 10am to 6pm just 5 miles north of the 101 along Scottsdale Rd at the intersection of JoMax. Hope to see you there.

Wrap-up video one:

Wrap-up video two:

Wrap-up video three:

I have just implemented a new mobile theme for those visiting my blog using iPhone, iPod, Android or BlackBerry touch mobile devices. To see it in action simply visit this blog using one of the previously mentioned devices and you will automatically be seeing the blog in the new mobile theme.

Designed for ease of use and speed, most functions of the regular blog such as comments, ratings and such are still functional in this new mobile theme. Page loads are much faster than going to the regular blog theme – great for times when you are on Edge or have a poor 3G connection.

And if you would rather view the blog in it’s normal theme, simply scroll down to the bottom of any page to turn the mobile theme off or on.

Load this blog on your iPhone, iPod, Android or BlackBerry touch mobile device and come back to this blog and let me know what you think of the new mobile theme.

Screenshot using the new mobile blog theme

I have decided to convert my old blog that was hosted on blogger.com to a WordPress blog hosted on my own site. If you are reading this blog entry you are seeing it from it’s new location.

Switching to a WordPress blog is going to allow me many more options and features. I am currently moving the articles & essays previously held on my main site to this blog (see link along top). All future articles and essays will appear here.

I will now be able to update this blog from my iPhone as well, so expect more participation on my part on this blog than what has appeared in the past.

I hope you enjoy the new blog and be sure to add your comments on entries.

Greetings from just outside Denver, Colorado. I am smack in the middle of my 6 week trip throughout Colorado attending fine art festivals on the weekend and photographing between shows. So far the shows have been excellent and the photography fantastic.

In fact I have been so excited about the images I am creating that I made it a point to find a wireless hotspot to get this blog post out. I will have quite a few incredible new photos to officially release towards the end of August but I wanted to take this opportunity to inform everyone of a new Collection I have been working on.

The new collection will be called the “Contemporary Collection”. These wonderful photos have a unique, impressionistic look to them. Using techniques I first used on occasion throughout my 17 year photojournalism career, this new work was created by “painting” with my camera – either by panning and moving the camera during long exposures or allowing the wind to move objects during long exposures. I first used this technique in the early 90’s when photographing track & field by panning the camera to follow a runner and using a slow shutter speed to blur the background and add motion to the subject.

With my “Contemporary Collection” I am taking that technique to much higher and creative levels. Images are created by not only composing for the scene in general, but careful attention to detail has been used to further compose based on the color and feeling/emotion of the scene in general. These new photos are intended for either casual or intense & deliberate study. They are the perfect addition to anyone’s home whose decorating style is contemporary and whose love of art is exceptional.

While I will formally announce this new collection in late August I am sending out this “preview” announcement first. The reason is that each of the photographs in my “Contemporary Collection” will only be available in extremely limited editions and I want my blog readers to have the first chance to add one of these pieces to their collection. Each photograph will only be available as a stretched canvas piece in just TWO sizes, and only TEN will be available in each size!! In addition, the price for each piece will continue to increase until the edition sells out. You will want to be among the first to bring home one of these pieces to increase your investment potential. After the ten pieces sell out, they will not be available again. Sizes and prices are still being finalized for these very limited pieces, but I anticipate the two sizes to be available will be 24″x36″ and 36″x54″. I will also have ONE matted size available, in an edition of just 20 prints.

If this collection is for you, simply email me with the subject of “Contemporary Collection”. You will be added to a list that will be the very first to have the opportunity to obtain one of these new pieces. The list is non-obligitory. You are not required to purchase a photograph for being on the list – you will just have the very first opportunity to do so to take advantage of lower prices from lower edition numbers.

Below are 3 of the photos to be included in the “Contemporary Collection”. Note that these photos are “work in progress” representations. I am on the road away from my home studio where I do all of my optimization and image enhancement. Therefore the final versions of these photos will look even better than what is seen at this point. When I formally announce the new collection I will provide more accurate representations.

This wonderful and colorful piece was photographed in Edwards, Colorado during a walk along a stream. It is a photograph of tall wild grass highlighted in late afternoon sunlight. Click on image for larger view.

This elegant photo of aspen trees was photographed during a hike along a lake north of Silverthorne, Colorado. Click on image for larger view.

This colorful and playful photograph is of wildflowers photographed during a hike along a lake north of Silverthorne, Colorado. Click on image for larger view.

I hope you enjoy the new collection and remember to email me with the subject of “Contemporary Collection” to be the first to have the opportunity to add these to your collection.

And if you are in the Colorado area during the next 3 weeks I would love to see you at one of my upcoming art festivals.

My June 2009 Newsletter is now available online in PDF format here.

It is not often that I have used camera equipment for sale – now is one of those times. I am selling my Canon 5D camera, Canon 24mm TS-E tilt-shift lens, and Epson 7800 Large-Format Printer. Click here for full details.

A couple photo related links worth checking out:
http://www.photofocus.com
http://www.mydl.me

To stay even more up to date with me and my work you can now follow me on Twitter. I try to post something almost daily (far more than what I do for this blog you are currently viewing).

To begin following me on Twitter simply click here.

I have just created a fan Page on Facebook. This new location is a great place to visit, become a member – or as Facebook calls it a “fan”. It’s a place for me to connect more closely with my collectors and anyone interested in me and my photography.

Make comments on photos, connect with other “fans”, be one of the first to know about new work and upcoming exhibits.

Participate in a discussion board and ask me questions about my work, post questions about photography in general, or post questions for other “fans” to answer.

It is free to join Facebook, and free to join my Page. Simply click on the Facebook link above or below.

Hope to see you there!!

I have now returned from spending a good part of the summer in Colorado both attending art festivals and photographing.