About Matt Botwood

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Based in the heart of the Brecon Beacons in Wales I have been a landscape photographer for over 10 years. I have an extensive portfolio of work captured throughout the National Park which I sell commercially, although the main focus of my photography at the moment and on this website is my own personal projects.

Drawn to both the natural world and photography from a relatively early age it was perhaps inevitable that I should focus on landscape photography. I enjoy the solitude of spending time alone in the hills, valleys and woodland of my adopted home in the heart of the Brecon Beacons, and capturing these places on camera is an important part of my exploration. However, while there are many square miles of National Park to explore I increasingly find myself staying closer to home with every project I pursue. Only by spending an extended period of time in a relatively small area do I feel that I really understand and appreciate the landscape around me.

Although I call myself a landscape photographer, much of my work falls outside of what most people would perceive as traditional landscape imagery. Stamping my individuality on an image is an important part of the process. My aim is not just to say this is what the landscape looks like, but also uncover what secrets it might hide, how it makes me feel and how I want to make others feel about it.

I am constantly experimenting with new techniques to help express my own thoughts about the landscape, and I am much less interested in the equipment used and pixel perfection than the emotion and message the final image conveys. I aim to produce images which make people think and encourage visual exploration.

To learn more about my approach to photography and some of my projects I encourage you to listen to the Ffoton Wales podcast recorded in 2015 and read the extensive 2016 interview with me in On Landscape magazine.