| From Photoworkshop.com Cover Archives
As senior copywriter for some of the leading advertising agencies in Sydney, Australia, Matt Hoyle has already seen the widespread impact of photography in the advertising campaigns he creates. But not giving him enough creative control in the commercial world of advertising led him to find an outlet that did. "I was on holidays in New York, and I don't even remember why but I decided to shoot some black and white portraiture stuff. I got back to Australia and showed some colleagues and they said I've got an eye. That's kind of where I started to say to myself 'Maybe I do.'" From that point Matt bought his first transparency scanner and a proper Nikon F4 and invented his own projects. From traveling circuses, state fairs, general street photography to proper sit-down studio shots, Matt was exploring the people around him as much as finding his own voice.
"What has always interested me as a writer has been stories. Beyond the pure aesthetics of a really nice photo I find what makes me look longer is the hint of a story in the person. People interest me. "Having spent 17 years in advertising hasn't enriched me much in life except for maybe the conceptual thinking. I want to put a thought or mood into all the series of portraiture I shoot. Even if it's subtle." In the last year alone Matt was asked to be one of the 1,000 'contract' photographers to shoot the recently released America 24/7 book. He was also one of the winners in the international Adobe Digital Imaging competition with Photoworkshop. He had his first solo exhibition entitled Some of the Beach with portraiture from the various beaches of Australia. A shot from this series also won the Kodak Real Australia photo competition to be used to advertise Australia to the rest of the world.
Recently, Matt has also won the Nikon Photographer of the Year award at the Australian Centre of Photography and was Prize Winner in the Centre for Contemporary Photography Summer Salon in Melbourne. Matt's latest series entitled "Icebergs Ahead" is also his most well received to date. The Bondi Icebergs are a winter swimming club in Sydney, Australia. "I wanted to find out what made the place so legendary. Many before me had successfully photographed the walls, structure and magnificent view of the 75-year-old icon but I found the people to be more interesting. They were characters for the story." Matt shot on digital which is now all he shoots with, for its immediacy and quality. He then treats each shot to express his vision.
"I saw the 'icebergs' as people who gave this body of water significance and warmth. I shot wide angle and gave a cool icy tone to the grade while letting the intimacy that such a wide lens gives and rapport I built with each subject add the warmth itself. I do very minimal treatment as I don't want to be a computer photo artist rather I want to capture something that is there and only slightly treat the image to share the mood to what I am feeling at the time." The Iceberg series is in the process of being developed into a book by a local design firm with the aim of getting a publisher later in the year. "People say that I need to get this book out there. They say they can see through my shots a unique closeness I have with each subject. It really brings me joy to hear this as that is exactly how I feel. Photography has been a sort of ticket I believe, that lets me into the lives of so many I otherwise wouldn't have even known about."
Matt is receiving interest from several advertising agencies and will be shooting the Sydney Tourism Campaign in his signature "real" style as well as three other projects from as many other agencies. He wants his work to reach a wider forum and hopes to one day shoot editorially for magazines interested in his intimate style of portraiture. He is at present putting together a formal portfolio to find representation from a proper photo agency. You can view Matt's work at matthoyle.com or contact him by email: mhoyle © Copyright 2002 by Photoworkshop.com |
