About Landscape Photographer Matt Payne
My name is Matt Payne and I am a mountain climber, adventurer, and fine art nature and landscape photographer living in Durango, Colorado. In 2018, I completed my life-long goal of climbing the highest 100 mountains in Colorado, where my love of photography was kindled. Since 2017, I have hosted a weekly podcast dedicated to nature photography called “F-Stop Collaborate and Listen.” I am also the co-founder of Nature First Photography, an organization that was created in 2018 to help increase ethical awareness in nature photography. Lastly, I am the co-creator of the Natural Landscape Photography Awards, an international photography competition which rewards and celebrates nature photographers who dedicate themselves to photographing and editing their work in a realistic fashion.

I grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado and was lucky to have parents that impressed upon me a healthy appreciation for the outdoors. I grew up quite poor, which was actually quite a blessing in disguise, as our family vacations involved going camping in the Colorado mountains almost every weekend during the summer. My father took me along on his pursuit to climb Colorado's highest 100 mountains back in the 1980's and helped me climb my first 14,000 ft. mountain at the age of 6. My parents instilled a very strong sense of ethical appreciation of the wilderness, teaching me leave no trace ethics. On the slopes of Colorado's mountains, my father taught me how to tread lightly to preserve the fragile tundra and ecosystem of our highest places.

In 2014 I moved to Portland, Oregon and enjoyed photographing all of the wonders that Oregon has to offer, including waterfalls, rainforests, mountains, lakes and beaches! In late 2015 I moved back to Colorado to reside in the town of Durango at the base of Colorado's most amazing mountains with my wife Angela and my son Quinn.

As of 2018, I have climbed all of Colorado's 14,000 ft. peaks (there are 53) and all of the highest 100 mountains in Colorado affectionately known as the Centennials. It is on my adventures to these locations that I am inspired the most to produce images that truly speak to my soul.

Honestly, I'm just an average guy that loves the wilderness and outdoors. My goal as a nature photographer is to show you parts of our world you may have never seen before. I want to transport you to these places and have you experience the raw wonder and beauty of our world. I hope through my images you can also feel wonder and joy and cultivate a greater appreciation of the natural environment and the positive impact it can have on each of us.

The entire collection of my work is available as fine art prints using only the highest quality printing and mounting processes available today including Fine Art Acrylic Prints, Fine Art Paper Prints, and ChromaLuxe Metal Prints. If you do not find what you are looking for, please contact me and I would be glad to take care of your needs.
You can follow my landscape and nature photography on Instagram, Flickr, Twitter, and Facebook.

EXHIBITIONS
2009 Mountain Living Studio, Manitou Springs, CO – Selected work on display
2010 Mountain Living Studio, Manitou Springs, CO – Selected work on display
2011 Mountain Living Studio, Manitou Springs, CO – Selected work on display
2013 Colorado In Focus – Business of Art Center, Manitou Springs, CO
2013 John Fielder Art Gallery – Denver, Colorado – Selected work on display
2016 Ultimate Mountain Living - Durango, Colorado - Selected work on display and for sale
2017 Durango Arts Center - "Traditions" International Juried Photography Exhibit
2022 Durango Arts Center - "That's So Durango!"
2022 Gallery 1516 Regional Photography Biennial

PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA
2022 Globetrotters Podcast Interview about Nature First, my photography, and more
2022 Shoutout Colorado article about me and my photography
2021 Talking Landscape Photography Live YouTube Conversation about my Photography
2021 Entrepreneur Money Stories Podcast Interview about my Photography and Money Mindset
2021 Outdoor Photography Podcast Interview about my Photography, Podcast, and Psychology
2021 We Talk Photo Podcast Interview about my Photography and Podcast
2020 Xploring Light Live YouTube Interview about my Photography
2020 Podcast Interview on the Understand Photography Show
2019 Podcast Interview on The Landscape Photography Show
2019 "In Layers" Interview on Nature Photographer's Network
2019 Podcast Interview on f/8 The Photographer's Perspective Podcast
2019 Podcast Interview on the Beginner Photography Podcast
2019 Podcast Interview on the Get In 2 Nature Podcast
2019 Podcast Interview on the Der Landschaftsfotografie Podcast
2018 DGO Magazine article about my photography
2018 Front Page article about my photography in the Durango Herald
2018 Podcast Interview on The Beginner Photography Podcast
2018 Podcast Interview on The Candid Frame
2018 Article and photography on the Grenadier Mountains of Colorado for the San Juan Mountains Journal - Issue 3
2018 Interview with Aperture Academy as Guest Photographer of the Month
2018 Podcast Interview on F-Stop Collaborate and Listen
2018 Podcast Interview with Nick Page on The Landscape Photography podcast
2017 Centerfold article and photography for the San Juan Mountains Journal - Issue 2
2017 Contribution to the B+H Explora Blog on how to photograph fall colors
2017 Centerfold article and photography for the San Juan Mountains Journal - Issue 1
2017 Greeley Tribune article regarding my research on Colorado mountaineering deaths
2017 Podcast Interview on the Traveling Image Makers
2015 Interview with ViewBug.com
2015 500px.com Guest Editor, January 2015
2014 Modern Luxury Aspen Magazine, December 2014 -2-page spread and article
2014 Coloradoan Newspaper article regarding my research on Colorado mountaineering deaths
2014 My Modern Met article on my night photography
2014 Mirror Newspaper article on my night photography
2012 Pikes Peak Sports article on my photography and mountaineering

AWARDS
2022 Top 101 & Top 202+ Photographs in the International Landscape Photographer of the Year Competition
2022 Three Silver Awards and Six Bronze Awards, 2022 Epson International Panorama Awards
2021 One Silver Award and Two Bronze Awards, 2021 Epson International Panorama Awards
2020 Three Bronze Awards, 2020 Epson International Panorama Awards
2018 Four Bronze Awards, 2018 Epson International Panorama Awards
2017 Nominee, 2017 Fine Art Photography Awards - Panoramas
2015 Honorable Mention, 2015 International Photo Nightscape Awards
2013 Grand Prize, 2nd place & 3rd place winner - Night Photography - Colorado Springs Creative Photography Community Contest
2013 Grand Prize winner - Black and White - Colorado Springs Creative Photography Community Contest
2013 1st Place, 2nd Place & Fifth Place winner - Landscape - Colorado Springs Creative Photography Community Contest
2013 Grand Prize winner - Colorado Springs Parks & Recreation 2014 Calendar
2013 Grand Prize winner – Colby Brown fall color photo contest

CODE OF ETHICS / NATURE FIRST
I am a proponent of having a Code of Ethics as a landscape and nature photographer.
Photography and the natural world have gone together since the earliest days of the camera. Historically, photography has been a vital tool in environmental protection, promoting the conservation of wild places, and encouraging positive stewardship practices.
In 2017, a group of photographers living in Colorado, including myself, met in Ridgway, Colorado to address a growing concern we all had as nature photographers: the places we love to photograph were being destroyed. In response to this, a careful, meticulous process was followed by our group to develop a way to fight back.
As a founding member, I’m very proud of what we created - Nature First: The Alliance for Responsible Nature Photography. I’m 100% dedicated to following the Nature First Principles that we developed:
- Prioritize the well-being of nature over photography.
- Educate yourself about the places you photograph.
- Reflect on the possible impact of your actions.
- Use discretion if sharing locations.
- Know and follow rules and regulations.
- Always follow Leave No Trace principles and strive to leave places better than you found them.
- Actively promote and educate others about these principles

Please join us in considering and possibly re-thinking your own practices, adopting or adapting these principles, and helping promote these ideas among other photographers.

NATURAL LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
In 2021, I partnered with Tim Parkin, Alex Nail, and Rajesh Jyothiswaran to create an international landscape and nature photography competition in response to over-the-top post-processing that has become popularized and normalized in this artistic medium. The main goal of the Natural Landscape Photography Awards is to celebrate the artistic achievements of landscape photographers who dedicate themselves to capturing the beauty of the landscape in a realistic manner.
