Matt Suess – Dramatic Landscape Photography

Image enhancement has always played a huge & necessary role in my work. Many, many years ago when I used to print my photos in my b&w and color chemistry darkroom I was always working on enhancing the final print – from dodging and burning to masking using cut sheets of paper to adjusting the settings on the color enlargement head – anything was fair game in getting the results I wanted.

"Entwinement"

The same holds true in my digital darkroom. Look at the above photo, titled “Entwinement”. It is a new photo from my Contemporary Collection. What is remarkable is how poor that photo looked originally, straight out out the camera, with no adjustments made. You can see below how pale and lifeless the original photo was.

The original RAW file was processed in Lightroom with all of the settings and changes I made reset, showing you the way the camera saw the scene.

By shooting RAW I was able to, starting in Lightroom, find many of the hidden colors, textures and details that were part of my vision when I originally photographed it. All that texture, color and feeling was there somewhere in the original file – I just had to spend the time searching for and bringing it all out.

For me the image enhancement does not end with Lightroom. After I get the file adjusted and in the ballpark of my original vision, the file is then brought into Photoshop to complete the transformation. Sometimes the final results are not that far from the original, straight-out-of-the-camera file. Most of the time, however, it is. “Entwinement” was a particularly dramatic difference – many files are not that extreme.

Close-up of the detail in "Entwinement".

My goal has never been to show you what the camera saw and recorded. The camera is just a mechanical device, devoid of all emotion & feeling, lacking in color & intensity. My goal is to share with you my vision – a vision that comes from a living, breathing person – not a cold, plastic & metal box.

I love working in my digital darkroom just as much as photographing behind the camera. I get just as excited watching a new print slowly come out of the printer as I did watching a print come to life in the developer tray of a chemistry darkroom.

The excitement, of course, is due to seeing the final representation of my vision that started by tripping the shutter on a camera, grew in the enhancement & processing in the digital darkroom, and came alive after the printer finished laying down it’s last drops of ink.

Today I added two new photos to my new Contemporary Collection: “Three Among Three” and “In the Woods, Lost”.

Both were photographed this summer in Colorado.

"Three Among Three"

“Three Among Three” has a very interesting composition. I spent quite a bit of time photographing these trees, with this photo selected from among the last few pictures taken. I love the three nearly identical trees in the background, surrounded by three other trees – one in the background and the other two in the foreground. The outer two trees leaning away from center helps balance the entire image, while the tree right up front and almost center helps give depth.

"In the Forest, Lost"

While I wasn’t lost when I photographed “In the Forest, Lost”, I was hiking in a pine forest in Colorado where almost everywhere you looked appeared the same. I could almost imagine how someone could actually get lost in that area. This photo represents what that feeling might be like, being surrounded by beauty but not quite sure of where you are.

Feel free to add your own interpretation of these photos in the comments section below.

Over the last few days I have fully processed in my digital darkroom and printed 3 of my newest photos. All three are from my upcoming “Contemporary Collection”. These new pieces are quite a bit of a departure from my regular work. I am so excited about this new Collection and can’t wait to officially announce the entire collection by the end of August or early September.

My newest release, "Summer Aspens", on display in my home.

The photos were created by using a long shutter speed while intentionally moving the camera. They were photographed during my 6-week trip in Colorado this summer. I printed them myself on an acid-free pH neutral based cotton/polly canvas that I then stretched onto wood stretcher bars. Each piece measures 36″x54″.

"Of Feathered Grass" on display in my home.

I will have more information when I formally announce the new Collection, but these new photos will only be available in the sizes of 24″x36″ and 36″x54″. They will also only be available in editions of just ten in each size!

"Above the Pond". This piece was initially called "Spring II" but some artist friends, upon seeing it in person, helped with the new name.

If you are interested in my new pieces and want to be one of the first to order one (remember, only 10 pieces are available in just 2 different sizes), email me with the subject of “Contemporary Collection”.

The above video shows “Of Feathered Grass” being printed in my home on an Epson 9880 archival printer.

The other day I posted the first two new photos that will be a part of my upcoming Contemporary Collection. The new Collection, which will be formally announced at the end of August or early September, features photos taken during my recent Colorado trip. You can read more about the new Collection here. Be sure to email me with the subject of Contemporary Collection to be the first to know when the entire collection is available.

"Spring II"

"Of Feathered Grass"