Burning Man 2009 has come and gone – and as everbody is saying, Best Burn Ever!!! I have gotten the 3100 images I took down to about 500 that I am going to keep, and started the process of individually fine tuning each one to bring it to its full potential (anywhere from 2 to 30 minutes per image). In other words, the photos won’t be done for a while.

Meanwhile however, I have now released 100 of my absolute favorite images from Burning Man 2008. As you may know, these were previously only available with purchase of my iPhone e-book, Burning Man 2008: A Photo Essay by Matt Freedman. And, I am getting on the bandwagon, and have a launched a Facebook “fan page” for my photography. I have inaugurated that by putting the 2008 Burning Man images there. So click the following link to go there, and enjoy the photos from Burning Man 2008, and if you would like, become a fan, so you can stay informed of the latest developments with my 2009 photos etc.

Matt Freedman Photography on Facebook

(and please forward/post/tweet this – I really would like to get the word out that these are available).

Meanwhile, here are a few of the new photos. Click for larger images…

A few weeks ago, just as the Seattle heatwave was starting (which soon led to our highest recorded temperature ever of 102 degrees) I really wanted to get out and climb Mount Dickerman. Due to its 4000′ elevation gain though, I really did not want to be climbing in the heat of the day. So I left my house at 5:30 AM, and was at the trailhead around 7:00. This got me to the first alpine meadows just as the sun was cresting a ridge at 9:30 AM, and hitting a patch of wildflowers for the first time that day, and thus still dew-covered. If you have seen my macro photography portfolio (i.e. ultra closeups), you may have noticed that I am a bit obsessed with dewdrops. So hitting a patch of wildflowers completely soaked in dew, yet being blasted by beautiful low-angle morning sunshine was basically like dying and going to heaven. Here are a few of my favorites from that morning…

(Click for larger images)

In fact, I was so obsessed, I barely noticed the flies that were swarming me…

Here are a few images from a recent photo shoot with French martial artist Daniel Locicero – a certified Jeet Kune Do instructor (not to mention talented artist) currently residing in Seattle.  Photographic hint of the day: when you want to highlight somebody’s muscle definition, side lighting is your friend.

(click images for larger versions)

And, BTW, yes, I also do regular old headshots…

The July/August issue of JUST CAUSE Magazine is all about food, and I did quite a bit of shooting in several Seattle community gardens for the Concrete Jungle story. Usually I do macro photography in the wild, or in decorative gardens, so shooting vegetable gardens was a change of pace. Here are a few of my favorites, only the first of which actually made it into the magazine…

(click for larger images)