Becoming the Australian Photographer of the Year | Matt Palmer

It is often the ultimate dream for nature and landscape photographers to open and run their own gallery and doing so is often filled with a heap of questions that don't always have easy answers. Talking about these realities with photographers that have already gone down this path is one way to learn more about it before investing tens of thousands of dollars on your own gallery opening. This week on the podcast I was joined by Aussie photographer Matt Palmer. Matt was the Australian Professional Photographer of the Year in 2019 and won the Natural Landscape Photography Awards Project in 2021. Before entering the landscape scene, Matt previously photographed in commercial, portrait, wedding, sporting and music genres. Matt was documenting some of the world's biggest musicians such as Metallica, Pearl Jam, TOOL, Nick Cave, Joan Jett and hundreds more. His work is usually instilled with a strong sense of justice and spans several genres. He lives in Bright, Australia, where he runs a gallery with his partner, Mieke Boynton. Matt and I had a great chat covering a wide variety of subjects, so sit back, relax, and enjoy our conversation. On this episode 298, we discuss: Matt's journey into landscape photography, Matt's rough childhood and how it shaped him as a photographer, Photographing in projects, Choosing and submitting photographs and projects to competitions, Judging competitions, How to handle negativity, Running a landscape photography gallery, Business models for galleries, Pricing work for a gallery, Matt's YouTube channel, Matt Talks Photography, And a lot more! Other topics/links discussed on the podcast this week: Support the podcast on Patreon. Join me over on Nature Photographer's Network and use the code "FSTOP10" for a 10% discount! Matt & Mieke's Gallery, Alpine Light. Wirestock. Natural Landscape Photography Awards. Join us on Patreon for our bonus conversation where Matt and I discuss Visual Hierarchies and composition. Here is who Matt recommended on the podcast this week: Mieke Boynton. Paul Hoelen. Ricardo Da Cunha. Chris Saunders. Tony Hewitt. I love hearing from the podcast listeners! Reach out to me via Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter if you'd like to be on the podcast or if you have an idea of a topic we can talk about. We also have an Instagram page, a Facebook Page, and a Facebook Group - so don't be shy! We also have a searchable transcript of every episode! Thanks for stopping in, collaborating with us, and listening. See you next week. P.S. you can also support the podcast by purchasing items through our B+H affiliate link.