Matt Tarquino

Matt Tarquino

Photography

My motivation as an artist is a love of the natural world and a desire to make that experience visible. These photographs are a representation of the beauty I see in the region known as southern New Jersey. Though there are no rolling mountains or huge apex predators here, close attention reveals a tremendously diverse natural setting. My goal has been to make work that reveals just how much beauty is right outside the door in this region.
The motivation behind this project in particular was to use photography as a conduit to a deeper relationship with nature. This project focuses on the simpler and more subtle subjects of the natural world; things that I believe aren’t emphasized enough in most of the nature photography we see today. These subjects might not be overlooked if one came across them in person, but I believe they are often overlooked as photographic subjects. Because of that, I made sure these subjects were a large part of this project. However, the more awe-inspiring subjects are crucial to this project as well because they immediately draw you in and leave you with a greater appreciation of the natural world.
These images were taken with a DSLR camera. Because I was trying to capture a variety of subjects, I used several different lenses. Most of the wildlife images were taken with a 400 mm f 5.6 prime lens. The nature photographs were taken primarily with an 18-55 mm f 4 wide angle lens. I also used a 55-250 mm f 5.6 zoom lens for many of the close-up images. The prints were made using an Epson Inkjet printer.

2018

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