Columbus, Ohio native Matt Milless rarely goes on a shoot without a certain scarlet and gray hat. Buckeye football, he’d be the first to tell you, is in his blood. And so is photography. Now a resident of Schenectady, N.Y., Matt discovered his love of the lens a little bit by accident. Director of Student Activities at Union College by day, it all started when he snapped a few pictures during campus events in 2007 to help meet increasing website and social media demands. The ability he suddenly gained – to capture moments in time and view both routine and rare parts of life in a new way – is what really got Matt hooked. It turned a hobby into a career. In 2009, MahiMattPhoto was established. The intense dedication and skill required to run this business has made Matt a versatile freelancer, as equally capable of stunning wedding photography as he is of high-impact sports images. His pictures have been used in NewsChannel 13 broadcasts, and published in the Albany Times Union, Schenectady Daily Gazette and The Wall Street Journal. Matt also has loyal family portrait clients, has done work for the University at Albany and Union College, and shoots all sports for Sage College. Its fields, courts and rinks he relishes most. “Sports are my first love as a photographer. There’s nothing more exciting than the celebration of a championship, and nothing more heartbreaking than an athlete realizing this is the end of his or her collegiate career,” Matt said. “I also like the unpredictability of wildlife. It’s the chase, the time you spend searching for a specific animal, and then the time waiting and watching that animal for the perfect shot. “It’s very exciting to photograph a bird, have no idea what species it is, and then identify it from the picture you took,” he added. “I believe wildlife is meant to be captured with a lens in the wild. I don’t think I’d even take a camera to a zoo.”. Self-taught in every genre he shoots, and is motivated to provide nothing but the best for his clients. Matt holds a master’s degree in higher education administration from Ball State University and a bachelor’s degree in multicultural studies from Augsburg College. Well-respected by his peers, Matt has been a judge for the Schenectady Photographic Society, a number of photography competitions at Union College, and the Annual New York School of Public Relations Association Communication Awards. He also participated in the first Help-Portrait effort, in which volunteers provided professional portraits to underprivileged families in the Schenectady area. The local event was just one of more than 600 held around the world. Matt’s work has been displayed in the “Diversity through Many Lenses Juried Photography Exhibit” at the ADK Lakes Center for the Arts, and in the “Brush and Lens Show” at the Irondequoit Inn in Piseco Lake, N.Y. Follow Matt on Facebook for the latest Photos: www.facebook.com/mahimattphoto. This bio was written by Erin DeMuth Judd.
My love of fishing dates back to when I was about 2 or 3 years old when my father and grandfathers would take me fishing in northern. Michigan. . After finishing my Masters degree in Higher Education Administration, I decided it was time to live in a tropical place. So just like that, I packed my belongings and moved to Key West, Florida, where I spent one year working in the restaurant business and yes, fishing! Lots of fishing!. It was in Key West where I first heard of the “Mahi-Mahi” fish, the Hawaiian name for the dolphin fish. People often would mention that they wanted dolphin for dinner. I quickly learned that this was not, in fact, Flipper, but the dolphin fish, or Mahi-Mahi. I think the Hawaiians found a much more palatable name for this delicious, flaky fish. During my time in Key West, I had two occasions to catch Mahi-Mahi. The first time my friend,. Chester. and I just happened to run into a small school of them while fishing for grouper. On the second occasion, I was on a commercial fishing boat and we ran into a large school of Mahi-Mahi – we landed quite a few of them. So why have I chosen this curious-sounding name to represent my photography business? When the Mahi-Mahi is in the water, it has a brilliant blue, green, and yellow coloring. When removed from the ocean, its color fades and dulls within minutes, right before your eyes! It truly is a sight to see! I hope my photographs have an impact on others similar to the impact this fish has had on me. The Mahi-Mahi is not the most beautiful fish in the sea, however, like in photography, beauty is found in most everything, as long as you have a mind that is open to seeing the beauty in all things. Oh, and I also think Mahi Matt. has a nice ring to it!. What the heck is a Mahi Mahi.