Through his photography, Matt Gee builds a cool, stuck-in-time West Coast narrative out of sleepy landscapes, familiar sights rendered wholly new, and progressively more global interpolations from his travels. Long one of our favorite California storytellers, Matt came by our New York offices last fall to finally meet in-person and give feedback on a prototype of our Beacon Lens Case. Today, we're proud to profile Matt and share a short video of him at work in his native Southern California.
Name: Matt Gee
Hometown: Claremont, CA
Describe your aesthetic in five words or less: Minimal, Aspirational, Bright
Go-to gear: Canon 24-70 2.8
Favorite place to travel to: Utah
Biggest creative influence: Chris Ozer
Thing you can’t live without: Jalapeño Hot Salsa Sunflower Seeds
What motivates you: I’ve always been very self-motivated. I just want to be a better photographer and human than I was the day before.
Matt carries the Beacon lens case.
Time of day are you most creative: Evening / Night
Biggest challenge: Fighting my perfectionist nature and allowing myself to make mistakes.
One piece of advice that stuck with you: Everyone has “stuff” in their lives and once you realize that, you can approach your relationships with much more compassion and understanding.
Mistake you’ve learned from: Underestimating how much I could write-off for my taxes.
Project you are most proud of: My first assignment in photography class during freshman year of high school when my teacher told me I had a “good eye.”
Earliest memory: Probably playing with my cat when I was 3 or 4.
Hidden talent: I have really good handwriting. Is that a talent?
Dream project: Documenting the Arctic.
Most recent “a-ha” moment: “The most important gear you have in your bag is your voice.”
Goal for 2017: I’d love to put together a physical compilation of my work as a book or zine.
Lightning round -
Sweet or savory: Savory
Childhood celebrity crush: Jessica Alba (then and now)
Cats or dogs: Dogs
Favorite album: Continuum / John Mayer
Favorite book: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Biggest fear: Breaking my collar bone
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