| OTM Magazine Feature |
In 2003, Matt Vardy owned his first camera after receiving one as a gift for his birthday.
Two years later, he turned a hobby into a job that became a career, working as a professional wedding and promotional photographer throughout Ontario.
He was 16-years-old.
It all began when Matt sat down in his first photography class in high school - at that time shooting film and developing photographs by hand. Since that day you might say photography and Matt have been inseparable - he fell in love with the art and studied the work of photographers he admired.
Before he was 18, Matt had been published in magazines and calendars throughout Canada. At age 19 he was hand selected by a panel of curators to exhibit work alongside renowned landscape photographers, including Wilmot Blackhall, a friend of master photographer Ansel Adams (arguably the greatest photographer to have ever lived). It was around this time that he graduated into the "big leagues" working in a corporate office in downtown Toronto, and started building the foundations for his own photography business which would soon become his main priority.
Currently in his twenties and based in downtown Toronto, some things have not changed since his younger days: his enthusiasm for the art and drive to move forward. John Crosley of The Associated Press put it best when he said Matt is traveling "warp speed ahead toward what appears to be stardom."
Recently Matt has had the privilege of working with a number of hi-profile bands, models and fashion designers. Matt has also worked for some notable organizations including Acura, Toyota, Worldvision and has photographed events such as LG Fashion Week among a list of many, many others.
There's really no subject so remote that he won’t shoot it and no shooting angle so difficult that he won’t pursue it. Don't be surprised to find Matt crawling through a broken window, or wading barefoot through a raging river risking all his precious camera gear to get the perfect shot! Never loosing sight of the target and always going the extra mile is what it's all about.
"It's simple, really." explains Matt "Unlike those other guys, at the end of the day I'm in it for the passion, not the pay check. And it's been like that for me since day one. Photography just plain excites me. I always want more, strive for better, and go further outside the box each frame. I grow from each experience - every location, every hand shake, every smile, every photo I take opens my eyes to something new. This job is my love and giving it my all, putting in 110% effort, feels 110% natural and I can't imagine a better way of doing it."
The people Matt works with inevitably catch on to his 'relaxed professional' vibe, and are able to connect with him on a cooperative-creative level not often experienced in the industry.
Two years later, he turned a hobby into a job that became a career, working as a professional wedding and promotional photographer throughout Ontario.
He was 16-years-old.
It all began when Matt sat down in his first photography class in high school - at that time shooting film and developing photographs by hand. Since that day you might say photography and Matt have been inseparable - he fell in love with the art and studied the work of photographers he admired.
Before he was 18, Matt had been published in magazines and calendars throughout Canada. At age 19 he was hand selected by a panel of curators to exhibit work alongside renowned landscape photographers, including Wilmot Blackhall, a friend of master photographer Ansel Adams (arguably the greatest photographer to have ever lived). It was around this time that he graduated into the "big leagues" working in a corporate office in downtown Toronto, and started building the foundations for his own photography business which would soon become his main priority.
Currently in his twenties and based in downtown Toronto, some things have not changed since his younger days: his enthusiasm for the art and drive to move forward. John Crosley of The Associated Press put it best when he said Matt is traveling "warp speed ahead toward what appears to be stardom."
Recently Matt has had the privilege of working with a number of hi-profile bands, models and fashion designers. Matt has also worked for some notable organizations including Acura, Toyota, Worldvision and has photographed events such as LG Fashion Week among a list of many, many others.
There's really no subject so remote that he won’t shoot it and no shooting angle so difficult that he won’t pursue it. Don't be surprised to find Matt crawling through a broken window, or wading barefoot through a raging river risking all his precious camera gear to get the perfect shot! Never loosing sight of the target and always going the extra mile is what it's all about.
"It's simple, really." explains Matt "Unlike those other guys, at the end of the day I'm in it for the passion, not the pay check. And it's been like that for me since day one. Photography just plain excites me. I always want more, strive for better, and go further outside the box each frame. I grow from each experience - every location, every hand shake, every smile, every photo I take opens my eyes to something new. This job is my love and giving it my all, putting in 110% effort, feels 110% natural and I can't imagine a better way of doing it."
The people Matt works with inevitably catch on to his 'relaxed professional' vibe, and are able to connect with him on a cooperative-creative level not often experienced in the industry.