Matt Stock

Matt Stock developed his signature style of Painting with Light in the Dark® photographs after building his career fusing art and science. To create his photographs, Matt and his team meticulously illuminate a scene on location using light sources ranging from the Milky Way and full moon to specialized lighting tools through the course of many hours and hundreds of individual exposures. He then digitally weaves elements of each of these exposures into a single luminous composition in post-production using Adobe Photoshop. Everything seen in his work was captured in real-time and on location.

Stock’s knowledge of his craft and innovative methods have led to many honors and awards including works in the permanent collection of Biscayne National Park and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, presenting speaker with TEDx Coconut Grove, recognition as one of five experts in night photography by Shutterbug Magazine’s 2014 Expert Photography Techniques Magazine, one of 30 artists representing the National Park System’s Centennial Anniversary. He was also recognized in 2017 with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2019 he was one of 30 artists and arts organizations awarded a Knight Arts Challenge Grant for his Abandoned Vehicles of the Everglades project. Stock teaches photography full-time at Ransom Everglades School, has been a participating instructor with FOTOfusion at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre since 2013, and is pursuing his MFA at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Passionate about preservation, he works cooperatively with state and national parks as well as non-profit organizations to raise awareness about ecological conservation with his artworks.

All images copyright Matt Stock.