Matt Slaby

© Matt Slaby

Denver-based photographer Matt Slaby used to fight forest fires. And he’s a lawyer. The two professions suggest that he could rip your head off in one way or another. Not so. He is kind beyond imagine. And he makes pictures that are full of wonder.

So it was my good fortune to help Matt edit his body of work about The West into a submission for World Press Masterclass consideration. It was no small task getting a 6-inch tall stack of 4x6 prints down to fewer than 40 images. But it sure was fun.

Matt flew into Portland so we could do the edit in person. We sat in a coffee shop and talked and looked at pictures.

Having grown up in Denver, Matt said he is compelled to pursue an ongoing body of work about the West. It weaves and dodges and bobs through subsets of pictures that hang together with the common thread that is his way of seeing. It’s a fascinating essay.  I’ll write more about Matt’s body of work in the blog section of this site.

Fingers are crossed that he gets into the Masterclass, along with Andy Spyra.

(Matt Slaby and Kevin German and Matt Eich are among the six members of Luceo Images. The other three are Kendrick Brinson, David Walter Banks and Daryl Peveto. I’m proud to partner with Luceo when the cooperative needs someone with my skills.)