A New Corporate Brand

Every once in awhile we need to mix things up a bit–although in this case it’s more of a cleaving in two. After a bit of thinking about it I’m shifting most of my corporate, association, and client-direct work over to a new brand, Lux Umbra*.

Same company, same cameras, same goofy face. But, with an interface geared more towards communications and marketing professionals for Fortune 500 companies, law firms, associations, and non-profits. It will have a focus on “real people doing real things” and will also include a bit of video capture.

As you can imagine, there will naturally be some overlap. My approach to photographing someone building a campfire isn’t that different than documenting someone working on their computer so it stands to reason that some images might work well in both spaces.

Matthew Rakola Photography, which has always been registered as Lux Umbra, LLC, will become more focused on advertising, editorial and personal work. In the coming months you’ll find new work, but a more unified overall aesthetic.

Whether you find me here or there, you’ll still find a commitment to great imagery, attentiveness, and leaving the location cleaner than when I found it.

As always, hit me up with any questions or comments.

Matthew

* “Lux Umbra” is Latin for “Light Shadow”. These two elements are the basis for all of the visual arts.

Horseback Riding

A little spring break vacation at Pleasant Pines Stables in Columbia, PA.

Adventure School

Last weekend the family headed down to Mountain Shepherd Adventure School in Catawba, VA. Adjacent to Jefferson National Forest and the Appalachian Trail, Mountain Shepherd sits on 100 beautiful acres of mountainous forest. Here, owner Dina Bennet teaches students of all ages about everything from basic hiker safety to wilderness survival. Interwoven into the shelter building, fire starting, bug eating (!), water gathering, signaling and more is the most important lesson of all–both in the woods and back in civilization–maintaining a positive mental attitude. Keeping yourself alive starts with keeping your head.

Oh, and the cute pups, comfy lodge and s’mores didn’t hurt either!

Water Rescue

This past weekend I headed up to Dutch Springs in Bethlehem, PA to completed my open water SCUBA diving certification. This has been on my bucket list since I was ten years old and I’m very happy to be part of the underwater club.

After my last dive I hung out a bit, floating around topside (trying to keep my camera out of the water) and captured some images of the rescue class that was underway. It’s a difficult, fun and ultimately rewarding class that I hope to take in the next year or so. Huge thanks to One Ocean Scuba in Silver Spring, Maryland for teaching me the ropes and keeping us all safe. If you live in Maryland and you’re interested in learning to scuba dive, or if you’re just looking for a great local dive shop, you should definitely check them out.

The Fossil Hunters

Alex, 2016. Calvert Cliffs State Park

Time seems to stand still when you’re dealing with increments of a million years. Maybe there’s some perspective to be gained by standing on the beach holding a 15 million year old tooth in your hand, knowing that it has survived volcanoes, and ice ages, storms and wars and mass extinctions.

Similarly, five hours on the coast looking for fossils goes by in the blink of an eye. At times, walking the beach with your eyes glued to the ground feels like a walking meditation. You have to be “present” to spot the little dark triangles–the fossilized shark teeth–that you’re after. At other times it’s adventuring. Wading in the surf, scrambling over downed trees, slipping on soft, bluish-gray clay. It’s a mix of different sciences–geology, paleontology, meteorology, oceanography, etc– with long lonely walks on the beach.

While I didn’t really understand this when I began the project, the Fossil Hunters series is about passion. The hobby seems to attract passionate people (some may say “obsessive”) of all ages and backgrounds who want nothing more than to spend hundreds or even thousands of hours on the beach and creek beds, day and night, literally leaving no stone unturned. Some love the hunt. Others love the science, the latin names, the eras and epochs. For others it’s a romantic idea of finding something that hasn’t see the light of say in 10 million years. A welcome distraction during this pandemic era, it’s no surprise that the hobby has exploded in popularity since covid, getting people of all ages outdoors at no major expense other than time.

Passion is also contagious. Even now, I’m not sure if I’d shooting the project to support my photography career, or using my photography career to justify a new hobby. But passion can also lay dormant, buried under the weight of the daily grand. When I was ten years old I was sure I was going to be a paleontologist. The plan was to discover my first new species by twelve, and then find a real living dinosaur by fifteen. Part of what attracts me to fossil hunting is how it taps into my younger self, reminding me of less complicated times when my “job” was just to learn and explore.

This is part One of the project. Check back!