Matt Bronner

Photojournalism Portfolio

mattbronner — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:56:09 +0000

Bay Area Girls Rock Camp Showcase

mattbronner — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 03:23:25 +0000

On December 11, 2011 the Bay Area Girls Rock Camp had a showcase of their advanced rock bands at 924 Gilman St. in Berkeley. The show ended with a great set by Erase Errata. It was a great night and the girls did rock. Here are a few pix.

Featured on The New York Times “Lens” Photo Blog

mattbronner — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 03:10:52 +0000

To commemorate our planet reaching a human population of 7 billion The New York Times put out a call for pictures, which would be used as a photo time capsule of what was happening during the time of the event. I submitted two photos, and both were chosen out of a total of 1000 submissions. Links to them are:

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/07/pictured-a-world-at-7-billion/#4ebdad5e75603b7904000137

and

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/07/pictured-a-world-at-7-billion/#4eb9f27a75603b5d2b000106

September 18, 2011

mattbronner — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 05:27:27 +0000

Why is this date significant? It marks the day when I realized who I am, and what I want to do with my life. Pretty heavy I know. What was I doing? Photographing a wedding. It might not seem significant to most people, but for me it was the day all my doubts and questions about my life were answered. For years I suffered long bouts of depression, confusion, and self doubt. Along the way there were highs and lows, love and break-ups, a fire, a divorce, a hospital stay, and finally enlightenment. Even the day before the wedding I was unsure of my abilities to photograph the event, but all my doubts vanished when I started working the next day.

People talk about being in a zone when referring to a state of mind where their ability to concentrate and their focus is heightened, a feeling I have had before while taking pictures, but it had been a long time. The day of the wedding came and that feeling came back, but stronger than I have ever experienced. Everything was easy, my eye was sharp, and my focus was extraordinary. From the minute I started working the rest of the world disappeared, and that’s when I knew, what I have always known, I am a photographer.

I worked for sixteen hours that day, and I wasn’t even tired. In fact I was charged, ready for my next assignment. I had confidence for the first time in my life, and I wanted to make up for lost time. I was almost forty years old and had felt like a failure for most of those years, it was time to move ahead with life instead of floundering. It’s a strange feeling, when you figure out your life, but it’s also incredibly powerful. It’s like a path is laid out before you, and all you have to do is take that first step. My first step was actually a leap. I’ve been waiting for this a long time, and now I’m ready.