Meet Rob Matre: Our Photographer This Week at East Lake

by Ryan Ballengee on Sep 22, 2009 8:58 PM EDT

At Waggle Room, we're very fortunate to have Rob Matre as our man photographing the action at East Lake for the Tour Championship. His work has been scattered all over this site, but we're thrilled to have him for the whole week for the FedExCup finale. So that you can get to know Rob and his craft a little bit better, we did a Q&A in anticipation of the tournament.

The Clubhouse | Shinnecock Hills GC | Southampton, NY | U.S. Open | 2004

RB: I love your photography because your pictures do such a great job in communicating simple scenes with great depth. How are you able to take what you perceive in a scene and translate that through photography?

RM: Composition is key. A photograph simply cannot be successful without good composition. I’d say I’m probably a better editor than I am a photographer. Art, like golf, comes down to making choices. I have been a gallery owner in Atlanta for fifteen years, and I am constantly curating, choosing artists to represent and choosing works to go into exhibitions. I apply the same critiques and concerns to my photos as I do to other artists. I trust myself and am confident that if I think an image is worth looking at, others will too. Picasso said "art is the lie that tells the truth". I think about that a lot, because the still image so often defies the logic of the perceived experience. I also think presentation is an important element to my work. They are usually experienced in a gallery or a museum setting, or viewed on my website, which is clean and simple with no advertising and little or no text. Just viewer and image, no interference.

For more of Rob's pictures and the rest of the Q&A, check out after the jump.

RB: What is it about golf that draws you to photographing its imagery?

RM: I particularly like photographing tournaments. There is just so much going on that’s worth a look. The players are there for portraits, the course is there for landscapes, the gallery is there for candids. Opportunity is everywhere for drama, along with occasional comedy and tragedy. I love architectural photography, so clubhouses are always intriguing, none better than Shinnecock Hills of course. I like to say that I want to make history out of next to nothing. So I’m trying to find something more than fist pumps, trophy kisses and what Chris Lewis calls the "hands above the nipple" follow-through shot.

The Maloof Clock | Ansley GC | Atlanta, GA | 2009

RB: There seems to be some sense of likeness between your style and that of Life magazine at its pinnacle. What are your influences that inform your style now?

RM: My influences are all over the place. I am always looking for what Henri Cartier-Bresson called the "decisive moment". Other photographers that inspire me are William Eggleston, Stephen Shore and Sally Mann, along with painters like Fairfield Porter and Edward Hopper. My best friend and gallery artist Steve Penley is a master of the iconic image, and I try to capture that same kind of immediacy. And I’m lucky to represent Walter Iooss Jr. and Vincent Laforet at my gallery, so I’m in the presence of true photographic genius practically every day. I’m also inspired by the many great photographers working in golf today, particularly J.D. Cuban of Golf World and John Mummert of the USGA. They have a real instinct for being at the right place at the right time and capturing the "big moments" in a compelling fashion.

RB: As the coverage of golf diffuses and evolves, what role do you think photography can play in capturing the happenings of the sport?

RM: It’s ironic to me how every one complains about photographers on the golf course. The players and caddies hate them because they fear they might influence their shots. The galleries hate them because they get in the way of their viewing. But I think photography, along with literature of course, defines the history of this game. I’m sure all the players who bemoan photographers have framed pictures of their greatest moments, and the complaining fans eagerly await the next week’s issue of Sports Illustrated or Golf World and all the great images inside. Video may be taking over the internet, but the still image will remain. As far as photographers imposing on the competition, it’s an absolute necessity.

RB: I am a huge fan of black and white photography. My amateur photos tend to be in B&W. What about that contrast makes it so appropriate for golf?

RM: I prefer black & white because it just breaks everything down to its core, conveying a raw emotion. It adds to the cinematic nature of an image, and allows the viewer to add their own layers of meaning. I do appreciate color photography and often work in color, but it can often be distracting with too much environmental information to process. As it relates to golf, too many people are caught up in the pursuit of perfection. They judge a course based on the condition, rather than on the unique visual and strategic qualities it may offer. My two favorite themes in golf are "embrace the conditions" and "play the course as you find it." I apply the same rules to photography. I shoot everything in a fleeting manner. Nothing is planned, I usually don’t wait for a shot to come to me, I prefer to go and find it.

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