Biography
Aaron Matheson was born in a two room log cabin in the woods of Middle Tennessee. He grew up in a small town about an hour south of Nashville. As a boy Aaron loved being outside, drawing and building model cars. Whether he was getting lost in the woods around his family’s farm or playing in his father’s workshop, he was always outside.
Art was very important to Aaron growing up. If he wasn’t outside he would go into his room and draw or paint for hours. It wasn’t until he was a teenager that he got his first camera. Aaron initially wanted a camera to take pictures with his friends, but as he played and began to learn about photography it quickly took hold and became a passion.
In 2005, Aaron enrolled in Nossi College of Art pursuing a degree in photography. At Nossi, Aaron was introduced to some incredibly talented people and mentors, including the friend who showed Aaron his second passion—rock climbing. Aaron quickly began merging his passion of photography with his passion for climbing shooting images of both amateur and professional climbers and advertising images for the local climbing gym.
After graduation, Aaron was hired to shoot product photography for a Nashville-based advertising agency and then went on to work for a well-known commercial photographer, learning the intricacies of shooting and editing commercial and architectural photography. In 2010, Aaron decided to turn his passion for climbing into a full-time job and began climbing radio and TV towers as a lighting technician. This job let Aaron travel all over the United States, and his camera was always with him at the top of the tower where he captured some of his most inspiring landscape and environmental images to date.
In 2013, Aaron and his wife decided it was time for a change of scenery and made the move from Nashville, TN to Seattle, WA to find new adventures in the Northwest. Then after 8 years in Seattle, Aaron’s wife made a career shift that has taken them to Sunny South Florida. They now live in the fringes of Miami, FL and they are constantly in awe of the change in scenery and wildlife.
Aaron always has his eyes open for a new perspective or “the shot”, and will stop at nothing to get it.
Quote
“Do you know what this picture needs? A girl in a red dress!” ~ The late great Donnie Beauchamp
Personal Statement
Being a photographer isn’t as easy as looking through a camera, composing a shot and pressing a button. To be a really great photographer you have to see the light, you have to have an understanding of how much light is hiding in the shadows and how much light is radiating out of your highlights. When you learn to see the light you can then start practicing to be a photographer. I’m still practicing…go practice!