For the late Ray Matthews, it was always about capturing a moment as unobtrusively as possible, though his photographs gave viewers a bird’s-eye-view of the subjects.
The animals he photographed probably paid little attention to the quiet, unassuming guy with a camera around his neck.
Combining technical skills with an artist’s eye, he preserved for more than 50 years the natural beauty of the Outer Banks but could also make the ordinary look extraordinary (his photo of sea shells on a fence, for example, is remarkable).
They’re a celebration of our unique little corner of the world.
Using a Minolta camera in the early days shooting 35mm slides and a Canon in the digital age, Matthews, who died last year at 72, was known for his majestic images of the barrier islands.
His photographs adorn the walls of thousands of homes and offices on the Outer Banks and beyond, bringing viewers comfort, warmth and memories.
“They have a very physical presence,” says Didi Tupper, who with her husband, renowned painter Rick Tupper, owned and operated Greenleaf Gallery, which sold Matthews’ work, in Nags Head and Duck until 2015.
“You see his photos and you want to be there, go there.”
On Tuesday, Sept. 12, the “Ray Matthews Photography Retrospective – A Defining Artist of the Outer Banks” exhibition goes on view at Glenn Eure’s Ghost Fleet Gallery in Nags Head.
There will be an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m.
Sponsored by the Bryan Cultural Series, the show features 46 framed and 50 matted photos taken from 1972-2022 and all are for sale.
The organization in a press release praised the late photographer’s work, saying “it left an indelible mark on the community and continues to inspire.”
Tupper, along with Bryan board member Lynn Hutchins and Pam Matthews, the Nags Head-based photographer’s wife of 48 years, curated the exhibit which runs through Oct. 7.
Matthews grew up in Elizabeth City and after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1972 moved to the Outer Banks and began his love affair with Mother Nature.
A reflective man and an environmentalist, the late photographer shut out the noise and focused his lens on whatever caught his eye, which included wild horses, sunsets on the sound, sunrises over the ocean, fishing piers, boats, birds, storms, lighthouses and bridges.
“He knew where to be when,” says longtime local photographer Eve Turek, who’s also well-known for natural landscapes. “He could read what was coming.”
A friend and colleague of Matthews for more than 40 years, Turek often went on shoots with him.
“He became over the time the brother I never had,” says Turek, who owns SeaDragon and Yellowhouse Gallery in Duck, which sells Mattthews’ work. “We took photos from different angles when we were together.”
Matthews was mostly self-taught and in the early days was, according to Turek, “quite comfortable in the dark room,” finding just the right textures to complement his instinctive composition.
In the early 2000s, he comfortably transitioned to digital photography, bringing his images to life on a computer in the upstairs home workspace that he built (Matthews also made furniture and played guitar).
In addition, he both matted his photos and built the frames.
Matthews also contributed photographs to newspapers and magazines, most prominently “Our State” and published two books (both, unfortunately, out of print) of his distinctive images.
The exhibit is a stunning collection, with images that include the Elizabeth II under sail; snow geese over ice; Roanoke Marshes Light with snow; waves colliding at Cape Hatteras and the Bodie Island Lighthouse under the Milky Way.
His dramatic aerial shot of Oregon Inlet, which captures both the turbulence of the ocean and sound at the Marc Basnight Bridge and the fragile, narrow strip of sand that runs south, is a standout.
Matthews was, according to his wife, with whom he raised three sons, always at the ready.
“He would get up in the morning and check out the sunrise, and then he might go to the beach or Nags Head Woods.”
“He loved nature.”
But it wasn’t always a walk on the mild side for the photographer who was forever on the lookout for the perfect shot.
“He loved to experience the ocean when it was stormy and wild.”
And the master photographer never left home without his camera.
On his Facebook page, he once wrote: I have a desire to make tangible images of the endless, fleeting possibilities and share them.”
The monthlong photo exhibit will do just that.
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Want to go?
What: Ray Matthews Photography Retrospective
Cost: Free
When: Sept. 12 through Oct. 7, with an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m.; gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday
Where: Glenn Eure’s Ghost Fleet Gallery, 210 E. Driftwood St., Nags Head
Info: bryanculturalseries.org
