Check Out Matt Hollamon’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Hollamon.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
In my younger days, I used drawing and painting as a creative outlet and spent a good amount of time doing both. Fast forward to jobs and kids and youth sports and going back to school when I was 37 to pursue a degree in nursing and I lost touch with that. Life has a funny way of giving back sometimes and opening a door to help you discover what you need. At home, we had a camera that would get used for kid’s activities and such and it had enough manual functions that it gave me some motivation to learn camera settings. I was in love with shooting the moon early on and then capturing lightning came along. I knew that I wanted to dive into a new DSLR at that point, so I began to research and finally settled on a Nikon D7100 in the spring of 2014. I was well into my nursing career at this point and would take advantage of nights off of work to get out and practice. I would shoot landscapes, sunsets, baseball games, you name it. Fast forward to 2016 and I’d worked my ass off to upgrade my equipment. New Nikon D500, new glass, more practice and that year I started dabbling in time-lapse photography. I loved all aspects of the sky.

In one of those chance moments, I was out to lunch with a buddy and his cousin on a day off and I knew that the cousin, Ryan, was a storm chaser. I randomly asked how it was going and he said “Great, you wanna go tonight?”. I said hell yes! We started in Lincoln and it was clear that we were going to have to make a dash about 80 miles south, just into Kansas. It was a 100 MPH race to get in front of a storm that looked just like a flying saucer. I saw my first ever tornado on that day (I’ve seen about 65 since). I was hooked! Still to this day, I chase with Ryan when we can make it work. The following year I made a commitment to time-lapse whenever I could. Storms, sunsets, the milky way, anything in the sky that had great movement. In 2018, I took my first storm “chase-cation” with David Baxter III, whom I met through Ryan. 2020 and COVID kept me closer to home because of my job but I still chased anything that I was able to reasonably. I met my current regular chase partner Justin Snead via Instagram of all things in 2019 and this year will be our 3rd such multi-week trip together.

In 2019, I changed jobs and moved into a role as a hospice nurse and case manager. It is a privilege to get to do the work that I do every day. To take care of and help people navigate the final chapter of their lives is the most important work I’ve ever done. That job will also empty your spirit in the blink of an eye and burn you out if you let it. There is so much loss. I use photography and storm chasing as a way to balance my life. To reset and calibrate my internal compass. There really is no better feeling than being out on the road with the warm humid breeze at your back admiring nature’s awesome beauty. There is just something about seeing things that make you aware of your own insignificance in this universe! I have released time-lapse films that coincide with 5 of my last 6 chase seasons and each of those have been a labor of love. My skills have improved with each one and dare I say, I feel like that I am getting good at it. My last storm movie is Chasing the Storm IV and my most recent film is all about Nebraska and the title is Lost and Found ~ Under Nebraska Skies. The beauty of time-lapse for me as a photographer is that I get some amazing stills thanks to the process. I entered a portfolio of 10 images into this year’s Storm Photo Contest category for storm photographer of the year and finished on the podium this year in 3rd place with entries from chasers around the world! It was just validating to me and just makes me realize that I’m where I belong.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road is never smooth and there are always struggles. Lets just be honest, 2020 was trash all the way around! I really had to make my chase decisions based on the safety of my patients and that was hard. I missed a lot that year. Relationships end and new ones find you when you never knew that you were looking. I will say that the older I get, the more all of the windshield time wears on me physically, I am a new grandfather after all 🙂 ! Chasing is an expensive beast when you consider gas, wear and tear on your vehicle, cost of equipment, hotels when it works out, the cost of computing power because you always have to have the latest and greatest. There are countless hours and miles on the road all in the name of chasing water vapor.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I have been a registered nurse for about twelve years now with the last 4 being that of a hospice nurse. I get to take patients and families down that path and help prepare them for what’s next. What to expect, and how to care for a loved one when they can be at home. My desire for a person at end of life is to help them find that balance between their goals and personal wishes while helping them find peace and true comfort during the dying process. I think the thing that I am most proud of and that does set me apart at times is my ability to make connections with my patients and families and build those relationships of trust and mutual understanding. It is the hardest job I have ever done but it is also the most rewarding. I am blessed to work with an amazing group of nurses, social workers, hospice aids and chaplains. It is truly an organization that works as a team to overcome all obstacles. I love the moments that I get to hug them, and cry with them and just be present. This job reminds me that people can be kind and beautiful and loving still, even in loss. It is my jam!

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
In photography and in storm chasing, commit to learning. You’ll never learn everything. Play with your camera settings and learn what they do. I read the manual of my first camera front to back before I ever got the camera. Shoot in RAW format. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and you can find a video online for nearly anything that comes up, I still do this. If you want to start chasing, then try to go out with someone experienced. The most dangerous part of storm chasing are the other vehicles out on the road and the drive. Make a commitment to be safe for yourself and the rest of us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.flickr.com/photos/123520278@N04/
• Instagram: instagram.com/mhollamon20
• Facebook: facebook.com/matthollamonphotography
• Twitter: twitter.com/HollamonMatt
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwavMUWNvoETi42e9rqnusQ
• Other: Vimeo.com/mhollamon20