Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Bradford.
Matthew, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I have always been interested in art in tons of different forms (both consuming it and making it). After having kids, I found that all my free time was gobbled up and I needed to find an outlet for my spare creative energy.
After our first son’s birth, a friend gifted us an awesome lens for our family’s digital camera and I just started taking photos of moments while out and about and around the house. I found that photography allowed me to quickly create while keeping the images on a memory card until I had the time to put it on a computer.
When I started sharing the photos in the early days of social media, I began to feel affirmed in ways that I just wasn’t getting from my full-time work. I then started soliciting friends if I could take photos of them for free to build out my portfolio and those photo friendships turned into taking wedding photos, photographing their kids, and shooting events around the city.
Eventually, I was able to build relationships with amazing artists, awesome nonprofits, like-minded organizations, and local professional sports teams that have turned into more opportunities.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has definitely been a winding one 🙂 .
For the first 14 years of my professional life, I worked in the education non-profit sector: first as a teacher and then in data/systems/operations roles. While it felt like a promising professional trajectory, I often felt creatively unfulfilled.
After having kids and while working more-than-full-time jobs, I found that taking photos of our family and our adventures allowed me to simultaneously document our time together and it allowed me to express myself through images. Simultaneously, it allowed me to do all that in the very small amount of time I had between work and changing diapers.
As I got more-and-more excited about the photos that I was taking I was encouraged by friends and family to start taking photography more seriously and I soon solicited friends to take their photos for free to build-out my portfolio. This eventually led to repeat sessions and word-of-mouth spread so that I was shooting portraits, events, awesome non-profits and organizations, and professional sports teams.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My photography is very human-centric (though I absolutely love taking landscape panoramas with my drone). Capturing the sincerity, kindness, and warmth of my subjects.
Prior to COVID, I split my time between portraits, events, non-profits and organizations, and sports photography. Due to events largely being canceled and lots of non-profits struggling in a pandemic economy, most of my recent photography has focused on individual and family portraits and professional sports.
There are several things that are really important to me:
– Building a strong and trusting relationship with the people that I’m partnering with. I never want to leave a relationship with a partner feeling unfulfilled.
– I aim for a natural and relaxed feel during a shoot, both in the poses that are struck and the lighting on location.
– And, I aim to provide more than is asked for on a faster timeline than expected.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
I’ve struggled throughout the pandemic, the 2020 elections, and the Austin freeze, though I know I’ve been so, so fortunate to be healthy and alive and to have my wife who can continue her full-time job with benefits while my work slowed down.
Throughout, I’ve struggled to see when some semblance of our former life would return to “normal”. I’ve struggled to parent, to focus on work between homeschooling and errands, to exist in our relatively small home without being a constant servant, as an introvert, and as a husband. However, those struggles have helped to shed light on areas that I need to work on as a human.
While I’ve been frustrated at the small amount of time I have for myself, it’s meant that I’ve been so fortunate to have time with my children to be a part of their lives in ways that I wouldn’t have had if they were in school all day.
While I’ve felt overwhelmed and exhausted as an introvert, it’s meant that I have had to be more aware of when I’m feeling claustrophobic and need to get out of the house and go for a run.
While I’ve not always been the husband/dad my wife and family deserve, I’ve been working to be quicker to acknowledge my mistakes, to work with my partner to collaboratively resolve problems, and to parent on the same “team” instead of on rival sides.
And, these past 4+ years has been a reminder of the importance of therapy and how important it is for EVERYONE to have access to free healthcare and social services.
Contact Info:
- Email: hankntank@outlook.com
- Website: www.hankntank.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/hankntank
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/hankntank
