Photography Talk – Matt Emmett
We are delighted to welcome Matt Emmett – an architectural and historic locations photographer of lesser known places with fascinating back stories. He works with heritage organisations on photographing at-risk buildings and the restoration process.
“I’m Matt Emmett, a designer / photographer at a toy company.
My father bought me a Pentax ME Super on my 19th Birthday, taught me how to use it and this passion for imagery has shaped my life ever since. In my early twenties I improved my photography by using the camera to document my travels around South East Asia, and then returned to art college at 28 to do an HND in photography which filled in some of the technical gaps.
A few years ago a friend bought his first DSLR and asked me to show him the basics. He had done some online research and suggested an ex MOD jet engine research establishment that was now abandoned where we could do the first practical lesson. I felt uneasy about trespassing on the site but decided to go for it because the photos I had seen online looked really impressive. I wasn’t prepared for how the experience would affect me and after climbing the fences and exploring hanger-sized structures filled with strange, almost alien machinery I became instantly obsessed. 11 trips and almost 100 hours were spent searching for and photographing the altitude test cells, turbine halls, power plant and 1950’s control rooms. During this time I came to realise, if you break the rules and go to places you are not technically permitted to capture your images, you can show your audience something new and fairly unique when compared with other oversubscribed fields of photography. Since then I have spent last few years travelling around Northern Europe seeking out industrial remnants, hospitals, bunkers, schools, houses and a myriad of other buildings. “
Meeting ID: 696 666 7182
Passcode: ISO1611