CHRIS MATTISON'S exhilaration with photography began at age eight when presented with a beaten and battered old medium format camera by his photographer-father. Endlessly experimenting photographically, a love for the magical capability of a camera to capture and communicate was germinated.

Pursuing a profession in photojournalism, Mattison "got his foot in the door" of his hometown daily newspaper by working as a pressman during the day and donating his time nights and weekends covering sports and assorted other events with his camera. When the photographer position became available, he moved full-time from the press room into the photographer position.

Mattison served as photographer for more than six years, winning numerous state and national awards, including Sweepstakes Photo of the Year from the Associated Press. In August 1977 he accepted a position with the Duluth Herald and News Tribune as one of five full-time staff photographers.

The large city environment presented a nearly infinite horizon of photojournalistic opportunities. "Much of the day was spent in a staff car, covering news assignments; the rest of the time 'cruising' for candid human interest photos that so communicate life in a city". "That was a wonderfully challenging time ... full of important and meaningful journalistic opportunities to be communicated photographically."

In August 1979 Mattison resigned from the News Tribune to pursue the freelance marketplace on a part-time basis. Displaying his newly named EARTH IMAGE NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY in art shows while developing a nationwide connection with publishers, Mattison also drove school bus for a couple of years to help supplement the costs of initiating the freelance business. In December 1981 an opportunity presented itself to assume ownership of a picture framing and art gallery business.

The gallery allowed an outlet for displaying his own photography along with the other gallery offerings. However, the rigorous demands of attending to the picture framing business and running a business in general, made it impossible to continue the photography business or even find the time to devote as much attention to composing and creating photographic images.

The love for the photographic image has simmered for many years "on hold" while attending to the gallery and art business. In the spring of 1997, due to serendipitous circumstances, Mattison's interest re-ignited with renewed vigor. Currently pursuing several book ideas in addition to developing new "painting with light on film" objectives, Mattison continues to explore the possibilities of the photographic image.

Mattison went to digital cameras in 2003 and now works mainly in that format. The compositions presented here are culled from a lifetime of experimentation.