Matt Wronski shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Matt, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What do you think is misunderstood about your business?
I feel the most misunderstood aspect of the photography world is the amount of time, effort and knowledge that goes into making a truly awesome image. We are currently experiencing such an unprecedented era of cameras being omnipresent, and as a result, the quality of imagery, in general, has fallen off. Apps are developed to replicate certain looks, primarily film with on-camera flash. The result is often a look which we did our best to get away from by delving into learning how to manipulate light, aperture & shutter speeds to improve our images in a way where they stand out and don’t look just like the shoeboxes filled with Fotomat-processed images made with poor quality cameras in the 1970’s.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Matt Wronski and I am a photographer who loves to blend photo processes from every era of the art. Utilizing gear and chemical processes from the 1840’s until the present, I find the spectrum of different looks we can make today, coupling older processes with digital technology popular presently, to be virtually unlimited and unparalleled throughput the history of creating photographic images.
I started my journey into historical processes in the late 1970’s. At the time, we were limited not only in the processes themselves but also in our ability to gather the materials needed to create images using these old recipes. As time went on and the internet allowed for the sharing of ideas and resources, we live in a time where the answers to our questions are, often but not always, a few taps of the keyboard away. There is still a whole lot of research & development involved in our quest to make these processes do what we’d like them to do….but the information at our fingertips creates an environment where we can spend less time figuring out the actual techniques and allows us to spend more time learning how these techniques can be used to free up our creative vision.
My goal is to be one of the practitioners who can bring this knowledge and creativity to yet another generation of visual artists. The only resource available in the 1970’s for what we then called “non-silver processes” was a book called The Keepers Of Light”. My hope is to not only continue to be one of the keepers, but also to find and help foster the keepers who will continue to pass this knowledge to the next generation of practitioners.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
Brad Lowell. He was in his late 70’s when I met him….I was a teenager. He taught “Introduction To Non-Silver Processes” at Lansing Community College in Michigan. This was a time when Kodak spent hundreds of millions of dollars a year “perfecting” photography. Brad taught me perfection isn’t the goal of making a beautiful photograph, but rather making the most of what was available at the time is the recipe for an excellent photograph.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Many times….and all the time. We never conquer these ways of expressing ourselves. We merely practice what we know and, if we’re lucky and don’t give up, we surprise ourselves with what we can create. Behind every image I am proud of were times I nearly convinced myself what I was going for just couldn’t be accomplished by me. Resilience has proven me wrong many, many times.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
This stuff is easy. All you need to do is buy this Action for Photoshop, this LUT for Lightroom, this flash & modifier for your studio and you’ll be making images just like the best in the business. Whether it’s someone selling workshops (full disclosure-I teach workshops) or someone else monetizing YouTube videos, the only way to learn is by doing. My students probably get tired of me saying, “The only way to learn Gum Bichromate printing-or any of the other processes I teach- is to do a lot of Gum Bichromate printing.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
How I sparked an interest in learning how to do something that is not easy to learn and by assisting in that growth of knowledge and skill that they discovered the coolest things in life are not the easiest things to learn.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Mwronski.com
- Instagram: Matt Wronski
Image Credits
Self portrait
