Meet Matt Wronski of Belmont-Hillsboro

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Wronski.

Hi Matt, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I developed an interest in photography at an early age. My first project was a pictorial story of a day in the life of my baby brother-7 years my junior. I was in the third grade. I shot the pictures with a red, plastic box camera which shot 620 film, I still have that camera. My Dad and I built a darkroom for me in our Detroit basement when I was 12. I shot black and white film with my Kodak Instamatic camera and developed/printed in my darkroom and started saving for a “real” camera. When I was 14 my Dad flew to Japan on a business trip. I handed him the $400 I saved from shoveling snow, raking leaves and cutting grass for people in my neighborhood and asked him to get me the best camera available for what I could afford. A week later I had a Nikkormat with a 50mm lens. It was the combination I would shoot for the next 11 years and I continue to be a Nikon guy to this day.
I attended Lansing Community College in the middle of Michigan which had a surprisingly awesome program. My downfall was only taking classes I found interesting rather than the classes I needed for an Associate’s Degree. At the same time, I got a job in a restaurant to pay for schooling and keep me in film and photo paper. I stayed in Michigan until my early 20’s when I moved to New York City. I had no real plan…I just figured the Manhattan photo world would welcome me with open arms. It didn’t. I ended up tending bar and managing restaurants with a whole lot of aspiring actors, artists and dancers. I shared a studio space across the street from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a silk screener and another photographer. I shot actors headshots while my roots in restaurants grew deeper. It became apparent I had a better chance making it in the world of food and beverage than the art world and I ended up moving to San Francisco to continue my restaurant career. I always managed to maintain a darkroom, whether it was a rented utility closet in one building or a shared room in a potter’s studio in another, I managed to keep a toe in the photography world. I continued on managing restaurants, working for the Kimpton Group at some of the busiest restaurants in San Francisco. Eventually adult life included a baby girl, a mortgage and responsibilities. I weaned my way out of restaurant operations by getting into computer ordering/accounting systems and then selling restaurant equipment. I managed to keep shooting but my love of photography evolved into a hobby. After my son was born, we moved to Rhode Island, opened four restaurants but managed to build yet another basement darkroom, even though by this time, digital was surpassing film in popularity. I continued my hobby and devoted my work life to our restaurants. Having finally tired of restaurant work, I began looking for another career. One my best friends, who happened to be a very successful real estate broker suggested I start shooting his listings. One thing led to the other and before I knew it, I had many awesome clients and I just loved helping them grow their own businesses. I realized architectural photography was what truly inspired me. In 2015 I travelled to Dubai to work with one of the best photographers in my field and a year later, I was living there. My skills improved dramatically but I missed the United States. I returned home and realized my revitalized interest in a photography career needed a dynamic place to continue. Nashville made the most sense as my next stop. The explosive growth there and my continued thirst for learning made the move there a no-brainer.
Covid came along and threw a wrench in the lives of everyone I know. All work in my industry came to a screeching halt. I’ve always had an interest in portraiture, though I never considered it as a revenue stream. Always an admirer of the likes of Annie Leibowitz, I found myself drawn to the sets she uses in her work, in particular the hand painted backdrops. After a move from a two bedroom apartment into a house with a good sized basement, I began painting my own backdrops. As I posted my work, fellow photographers and friends developed an interest in my work. The collaborative spirit abounds here in Nashville and it helped fuel my business. I can’t say my work would be as well received elsewhere as it is here. Where there is collaboration here, in other places the competitiveness supersedes and I don’t find artists work together as happens here.
Nashville has provided an environment where I have been able to add to my repertoire of creative outlets and help other artists while making a living at the same time. Having lived and worked in many other places, I can safely say Nashville is finally the one place I’ll always call home.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’ve had the good fortune to meet and work with awesome, supportive people. Circumstances have certainly come in to play and have pushed me to find alternatives to the way I was doing business. The financial crash of 2008 deeply affected our restaurants and a Norovirus outbreak at one of our restaurants taught me to try to maintain control of my working environment as much as possible. I went from signing the paychecks of dozens of people every Friday to being a one man band. Being responsible for every aspect of my working life is daunting but having no else to rely on is liberating.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’ve always had a deep appreciation for what human beings can do with their minds and their hands. Perhaps due to my being born in a city that took iron ore from the mines of Northern Michigan and transformed it into automobiles, watching the things people can create has always fascinated me. There is so much involved in artistically representing what people create. As a creative person myself, I understand all the steps taken in creating things. From initial idea to actually looking at a three dimensional end product, there are reasons things need to be built the way they are. Listening to the people doing the building and listening to the reasons for all their creative decisions allows me to focus on what is important to the creator and I’m then able to throw in my own interpretation of what visually drives a design.
There are many, many talented architectural photographers. I appreciate the viewpoints others take and always enjoy seeing how others view the same thing.
What I am proudest of are the moments architects, builders and designers take to tell me how much they appreciate me taking what they’ve created and have portrayed in ways they never considered previously.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I have always said, any amount of success I have enjoyed is a direct result in me asking lots of people lots of questions. I am fortunate to have surrounded myself with many people ready, willing and able to share their knowledge. My immediate family has always been in my corner…whether it was my Dad helping to build my first darkroom all the way to talented mentors such as Mike Kelley, one of the most talented architectural photographers in the world or Peter Hurley, the finest headshot photographer around, I’ve been blessed with people whose paths crossed mine and their kindness in showing me what they have put so much time and effort into learning.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: mattwronski.com wronskibackdrops.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattwronski/ https://www.instagram.com/wronskibackdrops/

Image Credits
All photos are taken by Matt Wronski Photography