Guestagrammer of the Week: Matt Rose

Momenta welcomes this week’s guestagrammer, Matt Rose!

Age:
39

Current job:
Photographer/Photography Instructor

Current location:
Los Angeles, CA

Connection to Momenta:

I started as a student and afterwards was hired as a Research Assistant and now I’m and Instructor.

Tell us about your journey as an image-maker and how you got to where you are today.

@ Matt Rose

My journey started when I was a kid and got my hands on an old Kodak 110. From there, I was a yearbook photographer and darkroom manager in high school. I took a break from the image making world to do a stint in Corporate America, but in 2006 I started back with photography and slowly turned it into my profession which led me to my BFA in Photojournalism from The Corcoran School of Art at George Washington University and now I’m finishing my MFA in Photography at CalState Northridge. My largest influences starting out were Diane Arbus, Robert Frank, Bresson, and James Nachtwey.

@ Matt Rose

What stories or issues are you most passionate about covering?

My work focuses mostly on subcultures and their communities in the hopes of promoting understanding to a larger audience.

© Matt Rose

Where do you look for inspiration for your work: books, movies, authors, photographers, art, certain people?

Inspiration comes from anywhere. The creation of art is a whole-minded process and the trick is to learn how to pull out those items rattling around in your head, and apply them in a meaningful way to tell a story. In general, I look at the larger landscape of imagery that is put out for public consumption on a variety of levels; I take stock of the ‘image zeitgeist’ and see what the trends are and what’s winning awards and why. I also look at the color stories and formal elements of the work to see what trends are coming through.

For a while we were seeing certain angles and really super processed kinda of HD work that in some instances, took away from the content. It’s important for me to understand these things so I’m not duplicating or just riding a wave. I look to the younger generation of photographers as well as to those who are working now. In school we learn so much about the masters who came before and what their impact is and the lessons from that, and that’s highly important, but we live in a whole new world now that changes as fast as we can make imagery, and with that, it’s important to pay attention to the younger photographers who are doing work.

That’s one of the things I enjoy so much about being an instructor for Momenta Workshops, I get to see all this great new talent. Folks like Sophia Nahli Allison and Allison Zaucha and really, anyone over at WPOW, are all doing such fantastic work that is really inspiring. I’m a firm believer in “the future is female” especially as it applies to the world of photography. I mean, just look at the work Andrea Bruce, Zoeann Murphy, Lynsey Addario, Gabriela Bulisova (just to name a few) are doing; we’re seeing such wonderful stories from them and it makes me really excited for the future of photography and photojournalism. I also look at my friends and the work they’re doing as well. Take Ella Marie Quimby for example, her MFA thesis work titled “Watching You Go” was really fantastic and just won an award.

© Matt Rose

What social media or news feeds do you follow regularly?

I have a lot of Instagram feeds that I follow:
@StreetArtGlobe @YalePhoto @rit.photo @girlgazeproject just to name a few on top of the various singular artists/photographers I’ve mentioned and any of the photo agencies.

© Matt Rose

What is one passion you have outside of photography that might come as a surprise to our readers?

Hummingbirds! I feed 30-40 everyday off of my balcony. I photograph them and video them as well and post on Instagram under @hummingbirdfoto.

What can we expect to see this week from your guestagramming on our Momenta Instagram account?

Slice of life/street photography with a Leica 240 while in Paris!

#Seizethemomenta, and follow @momentaworkshops on Instagram to see this photography feature!

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