"You’ve got to believe 100%
that you could eventually get to that point in your life, in which that passion
becomes your life. You have got to live it, breath it, feel it and love it"
- Matthew Poletto
Tell us a little
about yourself and what you do.
My
name is Matt Poletto and I am 31 years old, born and raised in a little town
outside of Rochester, NY, called Fairport. After attending Penn State
University and graduating as a film major, I moved out to Los Angeles to start
my career. Just recently, I have been promoted to the position of Technology
Producer/Operations Manager for all of our companies located in LA, NY and
London. Our company is called Nomad Editing Company Inc. I started off at Nomad
as the receptionist, moved my way into client services, then the tape vault for
two years, and then was an assistant editor for five plus years before becoming
lead senior assistant editor. I have been happily employed for close to 8 years
at the same company and have loved every minute.
In Action at The Formula One 2011, Melbourne
Who (or what)
inspires you to do what you love in your own creative business?
What
inspires me to do what I love is the idea that I am capturing a beautiful
moment in time that will be preserved forever, not only for myself to enjoy but
the rest of the world.
Where do you get
your inspiration from when you are taking photograph?
When
taking my photographs, I get my inspiration from seeing other photographs from
other photographers and the drive to take just as good a picture as they do.
That drive to achieve almost utter and complete perfection in making that
photograph the best it can be gives me inspiration.
What are the five
words that people who know you would use to describe you?
Happy,
friendly, caring, trustworthy and dependable.
"Three Sister"- Blue Mountain
Tell us about your
very first job and what path have you taken since then?
My
very fist job was working the night shift, 8pm to 5am, as a tape dubber. It was
for a reality television show that shot during the day and needed tape
duplication at night, so editors the next day could start in on the edit,
producers get their screening footage, etc. Great company and great people to
work for but I couldn’t handle the hours. I started job searching and that lead
me to be interviewed at Nomad Editing and I haven’t looked back since.
Describe a typical
day in your studio space?
Currently,
I do not have a studio per se but more of just a nice computer desk where I
process all my photos after a shoot. If I were to be fortunate enough to have
photography become my line of work, a typical day would probably consist of
photo tweaking, backing up my photo library, looking for the next nice lens I
want to buy or on the phone or web planning my next big photo trip.
Honolulu
As a photographer,
what is your biggest frustration?
My
biggest frustration as a photographer is when the lighting just isn’t what it
needs to be to get the perfect shot. Overcast days, rain, haze, etc. just gum
it all up and make for so-so photos. And when you have a limited time while out
and about travelling to take photos, have a packed schedule/itinerary and can’t
sit there all day, you are really at the mercy of Mother Nature.
Tell us about how
you prioritise your work.
I
have a way of figuring out what is the most important task at hand that needs
to get done ASAP. I usually just type it down in one of those organizational
software programs and my brain somehow just knows what needs to get done before
other tasks. Somehow in the end everything gets done and usually without too
much stress. At some points, it’s almost a little OCD with my level of
organization on tasks, but it helps me focus on the bigger picture (hah, get
it, bigger picture? Sorry, bad photography joke).
Working on Formula One 2011 Melbourne
Can you please
tell us about how do you connect with other artists, and your customers (i.e.
how do you network)?
Currently
at the moment, just in my field of work in the commercial editing world, a lot
of us are creative or else we wouldn’t be in this line of work. We have our day
job that’s somewhat creative and then on the side, we follow our passion. A lot
of us in this field have camera gear and love taking photos, so that is the
only area right now that I connect with other artists. As for customers, my
hope is to take my passion to another level, not as just something on the side
I do when I find the time, but something I can make a living from. Connecting
with customers would probably start off through Facebook, blogs and a website,
and eventually to the next level of exhibitions where you see your customers
face-to-face.
What advice can
you offer other creative people who are just starting out and following their
passions?
Well,
for me who is also somewhat starting off down this path, all I can say is
follow your passions with everything you’ve got in you. If it’s not a true
passion and you don’t give it your all, it will be readily apparent from the
start. It will be a waste of your time and others’. You’ve got to believe 100%
that you could eventually get to that point in your life, in which that passion
becomes your life. You have got to live it, breath it, feel it and love it.
Green Lizard- Maui
What dreams do you
still want to achieve or fulfil in your life?
As
mentioned above, the dream I still want to achieve and fulfil in my life is to
become a photographer, traveling the world to take photos.
What is your
proudest moment so far?
While
there are a lot of photos I have taken I have been really proud of, the
proudest moment so far for me is meeting up with Vinh and Stuart while on my
vacation to Australia and showing them my photos. While family will always love
what you do, regardless most of the time how good it is, and friends will
somewhat be the same way, until you get an outside eye to look at your work,
you would never know if your work is good enough. And in my line of work,
people in my field already expect photos or videos or anything else we work on
to be at that level, so to them, your work is just that. After hearing feedback
from Vinh and Stuart about my photos and the idea of actually pursuing that
passion as a career, I was really taken back. I never really thought that was a
possibility and now, with Vinh and Stu’s help, I hope one day my dream comes
true.
Who do you most
want to meet and why?
Another
passion of mine is anything car related, especially Formula 1 racing. While
this is also a passion, this unfortunately won’t be a path I am pursuing (don’t
have that skill to drive at that level or the money to get into that high level
world of racing). I have been an avid fan of Formula 1 for the last 10 plus
years and would give anything to sit down with Michael Schumacher, just to talk
with him about his career, cars, races, life in general, etc. He’s probably one
of, if not the best race car drivers, we’ll ever see in the last 100 years.
Formula One 2011- Melbourne
What is the most
important lesson in life that you have learned?
The
most important lesson in life that I have learned is to follow what your heart
and gut are telling you. Some of the biggest choices I have made in my life
have been from that gut feeling you get but just can’t explain. All of those
choices have lead me down the path to where I am at right now and the eventual
running into Vinh and Stuart, which has literally been a life-changer for me in
regards to my passion for photography.
What book are you
reading right now, and do you have a book you would like to recommend?
Right
now, I am currently reading a fascinating book called “Amexica: War Along the
Borderline” by Ed Vulliamy, which details in depth the horrific and terrifying
world of the drug cartels in Mexico along the border of the U.S. over the last
100 years. It’s one thing to know in the back of your mind that a lot of people
are killed each year in Mexico due to the drug trade but it’s another to read
statistic after statistic, story after story, with people’s names attached.
This is an absolutely eye-opening book that everyone should read! I highly
recommend this book but only if you can stomach the gruesome facts and details of
this horrible drug war.
Where do we find
you and your your work?
Currently,
I am in the process of starting a Facebook page dedicated to all my
photography. The next step is to start up a blog, my own website and start publishing
some of my photos in photo books sold online at places like Blurb.com After
that, who knows. Maybe one day you’ll see my photos in an exhibition.
Lake Wakitapu
