I fell in love with the surreal magic of infrared (IR) photography in 2001, and have specialized in it almost ever since. I produce high resolution, high dynamic range fine art infrared photographs, in both black & white and color. From 2004 to 2008, I mostly sold one-of-a-kind hand-colored black and white film prints, but more recently, since my acquisition of a quality digital SLR, I have been predominantly selling limited edition color IR photographs, usually on metal or canvas.
To create my IR artwork, I use a special system that includes a full-spectrum camera (sensitive to UV, visible and IR light) and a host of filters (to selectively transmit different portions of the electromagnetic spectrum). What this enables is photography utilizing both visible and invisible light, giving hue and tonal combinations that are unachievable otherwise.
My artistic rationale for this complicated system is the ability to create “dreamscapes” or “magical realism” via traditional single exposure photography. As I hope my portfolio shows, capturing beautiful locations in color IR gives them a surreal quality that takes the artwork to a new expressive level. The unique appearance of IR has captivated me since I first saw it, and I have striven to innovate new ways to optimize and extend the art form.
I have striven to be a knowledgeable leader in the infrared community. I have multiple product sponsors, am the Cokin IR ambassador, and am honored to become the new Hoya IR Ambassador! I am the art director for the largest IR hub on Instagram “creativeinfrared_global,” and I recently founded the most integrative IR hub on Instagram, “infrared_global”: the only hub that brings together IR artwork, IR enthusiasts, weekly photography contests, and product and workshop announcements.
Some of my future goals are to help further unify and expand the infrared community through continuing blogs, teaching workshops and providing online tutorials. I see these as mutually supporting ways to further the success of infrared photographers.
IG: https://www.instagram.com/matthew_stuart_piper/
Website: https://www.matthewstuartpiper.com/