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Nature Photography by Matthew Kessi — Pacific Northwest Galleries

A camera in the archives of Matthew Kessi, this Kodak Disk camera from the 1980's has a copper panel over black plastic casing.
My first camera. A 15 frame Kodak Disc 3100.

I got a Kodak Disc camera for my tenth birthday. My first subjects were the pigs on our farm — they’re more photogenic than you’d think. Fifteen frames to a roll, a week’s wait at the drug store, and if two came back worth keeping I considered it a triumph.

Forty-odd years of looking later, the equipment has changed beyond recognition and the practice hasn’t changed at all. A photograph is what happens when you stop long enough to actually see something.

That’s the same practice I write about in The Wild Cure and teach in my mentorship work. Slow down. Notice. Let the Natural World show you something. The camera is just what I happen to be holding when it does.

about the book · about my work

This was my third Nikon SLR and final film camera. Among many wonderful journeys, this camera took a magnificent series of black and white photos on a then-remote part of the Great Wall of China.
My last film point-and-shoot camera traveled all over the world with me in the early 2000’s, including South Africa and several trips to Ireland.

Collections

From bonsai trees to Pacific seascapes — every photograph on this site is my own. Some are snapshots of a moment that wouldn’t wait. Others came out of long, patient sitting, which is its own kind of work.

Each collection below is a place I spent real time with. A few of them changed how I see.

These images are invitations. Look at one long enough and something usually looks back.

That’s the whole practice — slowing down, noticing, and letting the Natural World show you something about yourself. If you’d like more of it, I send a photo journey most weeks.

join the substack · about my work

With thanks

I’ve admired Jen Ciesielski’s photography for years — she has a better eye for light than I do. She writes about life and travel in France at Dabbling in Jet Lag.

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