Matt Tinney is a TV journalist and presenter who has had a love for photography since he could hold a camera. After years of hiding his passion, the 38-year-old burst on to the art scene with a series of fine art photographic prints. The father-of-two has been in hot demand since revealing his photographic talent. Matt has released collections featuring Italy, Perth and Greece and a special series to raise funds for Pride WA. Matt has been photographing at Rottnest Island, over east and in Singapore and plans to release new collections soon.
Tell us about yourself and your practice as an artist
I work in TV News, but I’ve always loved photography. As a kid, I took photos on holidays, often asking my mum, dad and brother to step out of shot, so I could capture a spectacular landscape (minus them in it). The love of photography grew but I kept my passion hidden for decades. Back in 2020 after the pandemic hit, I started building an online print store and printed large-scale versions of my photographs on top-quality Ilford paper. But life got in the way and I never thought I’d get the store off the ground. A chance meeting with Perth photographer Kathryn Sprigg put me back on track. We connected on Instagram in 2021 and met for lunch. We’ve been eating and drinking, talking about life and laughing ever since. I’m forever grateful to Kathryn for encouraging me. Now, my prints appear in homes around Perth, Australia and overseas. I get my printing and framing done locally to support the WA creative industry.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
I draw inspiration from exhibitions, museums and work online,, learning about new styles and techniques which I can incorporate in my own work. At this stage of my practice, I love the freedom of being able to make any idea happen, without being wedded to a particular theme or style. I’ve released collections featuring Italy, Greece, Perth and a special series Splash! for Pride WA. For that series, I wanted to combine men in bathers in Perth, but not at the beach. Instead in the middle of the city! The Splash! series is about taking the plunge, challenging what's normal and being open to the beauty of seeing things in a new way. I aim to convey a story through my photographs and perhaps allow people to see the world in a new way.
How did this collection come about?
The Azzurro collection features a series of photographs I took over a period of almost 10 years in Italy. My mum’s family immigrated to Australia and cultivated in me a passion for all things Italian - food, music and talking loudly. I’ve made numerous trips to Italy, travelling from Sicily in the south to the Cinque Terre in the north. I love processing the shots using Lightroom - accentuating aspects of the photographs so the final images convey the feelings I got when I took them. What takes the tiramisu though is seeing my work in people’s homes and knowing it’s bringing them joy!
Is there a piece in the collection that holds special significance for you?
My work “The Dive” is one of my favourites and it’s the one I get asked about the most. I took it in Santa Cesarea Terme in Puglia which is the ‘heel’ part of Italy. Most people ask me, “Was this set up?” The answer is no. I was just swimming and enjoying the sunshine when I saw this bloke diving off the rocks and he was amazing. So I grabbed my Canon camera, scrambled up to the top of the rocks and started taking a series of photographs. I was really happy with them. But for me this one photograph was special because of that kid in shot. He just walked in and I love the way he’s looking on in awe, perhaps pondering whether he could do the same one day. I think it symbolises the feelings in us when we ponder doing something outside our comfort zone. I have this fine art print in the biggest size possible in my living room and it always stops me in my tracks. I think in many ways in my photographic journey I am that kid, learning from the masters of the craft and coming up with my own ‘dive’.