This is the place where you get the lowdown on the business: perhaps read of the eminence of the photographer, the previous career in the trade, then the long list of respected clients across a broad range of markets and likely a string of awards. Well, if you're expecting that here, read no further! Matt Woods Photography is a relatively young venture and a change of direction...
Before embarking upon Matt Woods Photography, I was enjoying a voluntary period of house-husbandry and family life; having a rest from the rat-race and enjoying the things that we all work for. It was whilst wandering the fells with my camera in hand and in a contemplative mood that I conceived the notion of making an income out of my photography. Whilst prudence might suggest that such a venture be started in parallel with some other employment, I knew that as soon as I returned to a regular job in industry that time constraints would preclude any likelihood of much more than "dabbling" in photography. Furthermore, experience told me that I would find it difficult to step away from secure employment and a regular income. So with time and enthusiasm on my side, I began researching what would be involved in my new venture.
With a business plan of sorts, an early target was to set up a website at which I could point prospective customers. Perhaps that is why you are reading this now? The images on the site are predominantly Lake District landscapes and are representative of my core activity. Given that there are an abundance of photographs and photographers of the Lakes, I felt that it was important to provide ready access to sufficient of my own images to permit interested parties differentiate any personal style that I might have from that of others. My personal preference is towards attempting to catch the atmosphere of the summits, as opposed to producing "chocolate box" shots across the valleys and lakes.
And that pretty much brings the story to the present day: the business is now operational and servicing orders. The original emphasis on landscape photography remains and has been supplemented by a mounting and framing service. With a long history of working in engineering, I continue to harbour an unfulfilled desire for an involvement in industrial photography. The maintenance of this website has proved to be a distraction from work with more obvious and immediate return. Consequently, I hope to launch a new and more manageable site in the not too distant future.
Finally, and at the risk of losing an audience, just a little about my past and credentials - that "long history of working in engineering"... I was brought up largely in Cumbria and following graduating in mechanical engineering, my first real job was as a design engineer at the shipyard in Barrow in the early 80's . I subsequently moved to Yorkshire, returning to academia (Leeds University) to work as research engineer in computer aided design and latterly in vehicle dynamics. During this period of employment, I took the opportunity to obtain a further degree. After the realisation that all the good jobs in the automotive industry were in the midlands or the south east, I took up a position that permitted me remain in Yorkshire, as a computer aided engineering consultant. However, a post that initially involved only short absences from home, grew over an 8 year period to culminate in a full-time requirement to work in Plymouth that lasted nearly 2 years. When this particular contract came to an end, I took the decision to take some time out to catch up with lost family life - and so here we are now.
Matt Woods, 2009
