Matthew Brien Photography
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Hello, World!

2/8/2017

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Since I last posted a couple of things have happened. Most excitingly, I earned a nice pair of bachelor's degrees.
One in Computer Science, and one in German. Of course, "Hello, World!" is the traditional output of the first program, and I believe it's a simple way of saying hello to a new beginning. That doesn't mean an end to photography, just the addition of other facets of my life.
You don't get to be a renaissance man by keeping to one field.
NYC Library
Concave Window

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5 Abbreviated Adventures on Planet Earth

7/18/2015

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    December to July is much too long to go without updating anything on my website, and I am right ashamed of myself.
    Well, what have I been doing you ask? Schooling, Gardening, Traveling, Reading (Did you know every plant native to Australia is a member of the eucalyptus family? (The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins (It's really good))).
    I've been photographing plenty too. I've been to Berlin, and Virginia, and even had work in two shows so far this year. If any of that sounds remotely interesting I would love to dive into it, but until then I would simply like to offer a photographic smorgasbord of my recent exploits....

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Seeing

7/14/2015

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    I have a bad habit of stumbling over my words. The other day I attempted to sum up my feelings about photography. I started talking about just one of the facets of photography I appreciate, the ability to find beauty in the everyday. (It's important to note I love a simple and succinct summation, and will try to put things into as few words as possible (not as much as I love parentheses and alliteration of course. I also love the literary spikes that show where an entire essay could start from, ( A nod to other ideas while accepting that they will need to wait))).

    I Simplified away all the other facets of photography, and then concluded that without beauty in everyday life we would all just kill ourselves. Upon finishing that sentence I realized I completely disagreed with whatever the hell I had just said.
Ever have moments like that? When the train of thought leaves the station without a known destination?  That's not where I wanted to end up at all. What this told me is that I haven't given the subject enough thought.

    I do believe that beauty in the everyday makes like more meaningful, and more worth living, but I don't think the absence of it would negate the point of life. I can't dive into every facet of photography today, since I'll never finish writing this, but I do want to think about sight. As a necessary trait for survival, and as an overwhelming sense it is easy to take for granted, but I truly do cherish it.

    Vision is the most dominant sense for almost everyone (with some really amazing exceptions,  for a good time look up "people using echo location"). Vision is so powerful it even follows us into out sleep. (I don't know about you, but I don't dream much in scent, taste, or touch). It is so universal that it is easy to forget.
It's just like this joke. There are these two goldfish hanging out.
The first goldfish looks to the other and asks "How's the water today?" to which the second goldfish replies "What the heck is water?"
When something is so constant, it is easy to forget about.
But like most people, I had to realize what I was missing before I appreciated what I had (Humans are kind of dumb that way). I did not realize how much I loved simply looking until I got my first pair of glasses.(Another example is breathing. I once had a terrible asthma attack sent me to the hospital. I remember not being able to walk to the bathroom without being completely winded. I mean sit down and take 5 minutes to catch my breath kind of winded. Since then I sometimes take time just to enjoy breathing).

    I got my first pair of glasses in the 4th grade. Oval frames, with turtle shell coloring on the ear pieces.  I remember wearing them in the car and seeing the twigs and leaves up in the canopies flying by. Every little thing was incredible, not because I couldn't see it before, but because now I could see it from further away than 5 feet. Because suddenly I could sit still, and the entire world around me was real and in focus. The world was so sharp and defined I couldn’t help but look and look and look.

For anyone with really good vision, having bad vision is not like being blind, it's just like looking at an out of focus photo (which in my opinion are not really worth looking at). But it wasn't just trees and morning dew on grass that I was missing. I was missing was faces. (I was a pretty shy child, so I wasn't so inclined to get super close to people's faces). Can you imagine not being able to see faces? Sure I could tell if someone had a head on their shoulders, but the true image of that person eluded me. Plus, How much of communication is body language, and how much of feeling comes from seeing facial expressions? (a lot). Poor vision was robbing me of so much more than I knew.

     When I got my glasses, suddenly everyone had a face. I could look around the classroom and see what people were feeling. I could see the confusion and furrowed brow of someone trying to understand math  (It was a few years ago that I got new lenses and looked around my calculus class to see these kinds of faces. In fifth grade I was a little preoccupied with day dreaming. I remember my daydreams completely over powering my actual vision, which only returned when I would get called on by my teacher)).

    The more I have gotten the ability to see, the more I have found there is worth looking at. It makes vision hard to take for granted. And that's what photography is to me. It is vision, not just by  working with similar properties as the eyes, but by extending the universe of things we have to see. It is a way to not only cherish our vision, but a way to share it.

-Matthew

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Obligatory Fall Photos

12/5/2014

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Or, Why I got an Instagram after talking smack for so long...

Well, it's that time of year again. The time when I curse the sun's beautiful light as I drive home and I'm unable to to photograph anything without endangering lives. The time when the sun mocks you with it's rising and setting hours. The time when the air become cold, then hot, and then cold again.
Sure there are some okay things this time of year, thanksgiving, leftovers, apple cider, and of course the foliage, but the shifting seasons always gets me. (Maybe it's just tomato withdrawal.)
Sure, I love the light and colors this time of year, but there just isn't enough to go around.

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Now, sometimes I feel like a right lazy bum, because I've got this blog here, and sometimes I don't give it the love and attention that it deserves. I really would like spend more time writing about my work. Sure, I could probably get away with saying that it's because I'm a full time student, double majoring in computer science and German, but to be honest, I spend a lot of time on Reddit procrastinating. Sometimes I want other ways to share my work. Long story short, in an ill conceived decision, I decided to get an Instagram account. Mostly because I thought "oh, this will be so funny." Well no one is laughing now.
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Now, I've said my fair share of words against Instagram. Like one time I said "Real photographers don't use Instagram." Another time I said "Instagram is dumb and I hate it." And that other time I said "I'll get an Instagram when hell freezes over." But sometimes we are scared of the things we don't understand. Sometimes we are scared of things we know we will get addicted to. And I can say, that my fears were completely justified and I am a super Instagram addict. The worst part is the productive feeling I get sharing my photographs on Instagram.
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Why am I talking about Instagram instead of these photos? Because, personally, I wouldn't read all of this junk, so I'm breaking it up into smaller more silly pieces so that I might explain my plight.
Also, my fall into shallow single images has nicely mirrored the fall, and the decline of seasons from the bounty of summer to the cold depths of winter.
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These are self explanatory. I love taking photographs. Sometimes because the light is beautiful. Sometimes to record the world. I'm not always seeking to transcend the human experience. Sometimes it's just cure farm animals.
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I value the concise. I love an idea that is well defined in a short sweet way. On the other hand, I don't like over simplicity. (Although, it is a good catalyst for sarcasm).  A good photograph can speak volumes, transcend time and culture, but a bad photograph can make you want to wish you were blind. There are a lot of terrible photographs on Instagram. I mean, just simply terrible. But, their existence does not define the quality of mine. If it did, I wouldn't be able to have a blog, because there are bad photos on the rest of the internet.
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This tree is called a flying dragon orange if you are wondering. It does fruit, but unlike the thorns, the fruit is tiny.
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In conclusion:
There's an old joke - um... two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions." ~ Alvy Singer
While I may have once ridiculed Instagram, it now has a parasitic hold on my heart. I began thinking it signaled the autumn of my artistic integrity, but seasons are not ends, they are merely changes.  Also, if you followed me on Instagram, you could have seen some of these fall photos already. Hint Hint Hint.

-Matthew
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The Light Factory

11/20/2014

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I've had a lot of fun recently with the Light Factory. I volunteered to watch the gallery where I subsequently volunteered to sand and varnish a door.  I helped out during their annual auction last Saturday, and I added my .75 % to the Moment Mile project ( a mile long panorama of Tyron Street). With all the activity and energy it is kind of easy to forget that even just  a year ago, The Light Factory was in dire straights, suspending operations, and moving out of Spirit Square.

A little History:
The Light Factory is one of only 4 museums in the US that focuses solely on Photography and Film. My Grandfather Tom Walters helped start the light factory way back in the day, and I feel a connection and obligation to help. But it's more than that, whenever I have walked into a Light Factory exhibit, I have been amazed. I have stood in awe, and found inspiration for my photography and my life. And on top of all that, this resurgence of energy is being called the Light Factory Renaissance. (And if I  know anything about renaissances, it is that when one rolls around, you get your butt on that train.)

Back in February, while the Light Factory was undergoing its reorganization, I got to play roadie during the filming of one of their Kickstarter videos. (The video was done by the wonderful videographer of Wonderworld, Dorne Pentes.) When I was not sweeping up shattered light bulbs, I got to dance a bit, and take some behind the scenes photos.
I had been meaning to post some photos earlier, but I was sworn to secrecy until after the Kickstarter launched, and then I had that thing in Europe. So now, as the weather gets chilly and I no longer want to be outside, I have decided to share.

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CPCC Friends And Family Market

11/5/2014

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Going on between RIGHT NOW now and Dec 18th is something really cool.
CPCC is holding it's first (and hopefully annual) Friends and family market. The market hosts original art from CPCC faculty, former students, and local artists, and everything is $50 or less. Plus 10% of the price of  everything sold goes to a student organization of the artists choice. (I chose the Visual Arts Club, I'm sort of into Visual stuff)
So I'm excited to announce that for the first time, real live photographs from my work in Rome this summer
are available! Eight of my favorite moments from Rome!
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"But I thought you said 8 photos. I only counted 7."
That's very observant of you. The fact is the 8th is a secret and you will only know about it if you get down to CPCC before someone else buys it.

Each of the 8x10 photos is one of three prints,  signed by yours truly, and can be yours for only $30.  A steal I think.


If supporting local artists, a great school, cool students, and getting awesome art at a sweet price wasn't enough, perhaps I should remind you about that holiday sneaking up (that you've been trying to ignore) Imagine getting some of that shopping done now, but without the guilt of spending too much, or giving money to a giant faceless corporation.
I would check it out sooner rather than later. I saw quite a few sold stickers when I passed through earlier.

I hope you'll check it out!
Matthew

PS. CPCC is even conveniently located near downtown, has free parking (off of 4th street), and the gallery had a bunch of leftover Halloween candy last time I checked, so you really have no excuse.
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Whittling it all down

8/10/2014

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"Why did I take so many photos Consarn It!?" ~ every photographer ever.
"Why didn't I take more photos Dagnabbit!? " ~ every photographer ever, about 15 minutes later.
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My sister peeks up over the stolen tables to glance at my photos.  I thought printing them might make it easier to work through them.
Printing your photos is one of those  things we don't do enough of any more. It's definitely not as convenient as an LCD, the "hour" in 1 hour photo is more of an estimate, and by my estimates it would costs a few pretty pennies  to print all my photos, but sometimes it is oh so worth it. I couldn't do this earlier, as I don't have the time, energy, or table space to deal with 9000 photos. But 350, clocking in at about 3.8%, seemed a bit more manageable. When I held and flipped through these photos, I felt like I was rediscovering them.
I think this has given my workflow a new edge. It is easier to reorganize, and experiment when they are physical objects sitting on the table. It becomes a puzzle instead of an eye burning experience.

After sorting things in a few different ways, I began to see how certain themes were stacking up (stacks are a necessary part of most sorting processes), and what I might really want to run with.

Work, Poverty, Public Transportation, People with Pets, Tourists, People crossing streets, Daily facts of life, Architecture, Fishing, Arguments. These are all things that have had their own stack at one point or another. Of course a lot of my photos moved between more than a few different piles.
The human spirit and human experience is deeply ingrained in this series. (This is giving me some title ideas. I'll share when I'm sure they don't sound too silly) There are hardly any photos that don't bear the finger print of civilization (which would have been a great challenge and awesome idea now that I think about it).
But due to the broad spectrum of life, it is still difficult to wrap everything into one neat bundle.
I suppose if
Rome had been a place with less variety I probably wouldn't have wanted to go there in the first place.

Hopefully I'll make some more order out of this soon.

-Matthew
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Better with age? 

8/7/2014

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First, I would like to apologize from my absence. I do find it necessary, although selfish, to take a break from my photos after taking them. I find that a second, more objective look helps me edit and focus. There is also an interesting act of comparing my memory of photos to what they actually look like.  I spent the mean time in the garden, which I quite enjoyed. I guess I'm not that sorry after all. Oh well.

I considered a number of themes while planning and taking my Roman photos.
I thought about focusing on Water, a vital element of life and Rome. I wanted to do a "portrait of Rome" which I imagined would involve more of the physical makeup of Rome, rather than the people (Now I think the opposite is a much better idea). There was even a time, while feeling the absence of my significant other, when I considered un-romanticizing  Rome.  When asked why I responded exasperatedly with "Because I'm stuck here in Rome for five weeks without my girlfriend." My photography professor calmly asked if I realized that I had just said "Stuck in Rome?" Those repeated words were a wake up call. I was being selfish with my emotions, and robing myself of the opportunity at my feet.

I stopped worrying about themes and subjects and lack of girlfriend, and instead, focused on what grabbed my attention.  I've already revealed in previous posts my new found love for street photography. That is what grabbed me, and reminded me of the Mark Twain quote.  People are the same all over the world. It is an odd fact that we need constant reminding not to jump into the sweet conclusive embrace of stereotypical generalization.

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With the exception of the architecture, I think these photos could have been taken anywhere. This troubles me, because how I wanted something distinctly Roman. Perhaps "the Roman"  experience is just an imagined subset of the human experience.
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A few days after I got home, a friend was asking when I would get around to showing off my photos. She suggested that I post them before people lose interest. If I had gone to Rome to take selfies in front of the Vatican and the Colosseum, I probably would have agreed with her. But the one thing I knew before I left was that I wanted to take photos that would be timeless, not photos that would be boring next week.

I like to think I'm on the right track, but I suppose only time will tell.

-Matthew


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The Portrait Begins to Appear 

6/13/2014

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Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness, and many o four people need it severely on these accounts. Broad, hole some, charitable views of men (and women)  and things  cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.
- Mark Twain: The Innocents Abroad/Roughing It

Dunbar's number, the hypothetical limit to the number of people we can maintain stable social relationships is estimated to be about 150. It is only through generalization that we can hope to understand the workings of complex systems and societies. But, generalizing is a very poor way to understand people. 
To travel is to be bludgeoned on the head by the fact that we are all alike. That the common thread of humanity are not extraneous details on the social fabric, but instead integral roots, vital to every life.
The details are evident, and can be used to understand societies, but they are far from the end of the story. 
What I've attempted to explore in these photographs is that fabric; weaving structure and details together. The lace details of Rome adorning the human experience. In a city of 2 million people, there are two million live intertwining in more ways that we can ever understand. To glimpse into that woven landscape is not to understand it, but to come to grips with the edges of our knowledge, and vastness of the unknown.
Last October I started thinking about what I could do to get to Rome. What I could hope to learn, create, and accomplish here. I wanted to make a portrait of the city itself, but I was not quite sure what that would entail. But now, after spending 5 weeks in this one of a kind city, I think a product I can be proud of is developing.

-Matthew
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Insert Clever Thought Provoking Title Here

5/26/2014

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You may recall that I attempted a Kickstarter to raise money for this trip.  I was (and may still) going to print a book with photos of Rome.  Thank goodness that plan did not pan out. How on earth would I have promised something like that? Don't get me wrong, I would have found a way, but I would have also found some gray hairs.
What I mean to say is, holy moley, there is way too much in this town for one book.
I think any photographer will tell you, taking photos is the easy part, choosing the best is the where the challenge begins.
Also, I would feel obligated to remove silly photos and comments like the ones you will find below.
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They were speaking Italian, but I'm pretty sure the conversation was as follows:
"I love you"
"Olive you too"
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Guards standing guard to make sure none gets in without paying the  special occasion 1 euro entrance fee  at the Capitoline Museum.
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There is always someone fishing in the Tiber. Even at midnight.  So, I don't know, maybe avoid the sushi here.
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And this is just in case you have not hit your butt juxtaposition quota for the day.



-Matthew
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