The silhouette of a young boy lingers in the shadows of a door ajar on Grosbeak road. In a moment’s time, the door shuts, echoing throughout the Yonkers neighborhood. Armed with only his imagination, he sets off on an expedition to discover the creatures inhabiting a thin strip of wood bordering interstate 87, the Forest Woods. The journey, not a distant mirage, leads him up the road to the edge of a stand of oak and maple. Tendrils of light sift through the canopy, illuminating the quest’s path. Crooked limbs outstretched, guide his passage inward, out of the darkness and into the light. With a bound he crosses the threshold and runs.
The Photographer I am Matthew Bologna, ever still the dreamer in the forest. As a child, no mattered how often the destination remained unchanged the adventures never seemed to cease. Each and every time I step into the wood I bring that youthful exuberance, whether crawling through the mud or trekking through bramble. There’s always that unseen curiosity around the next bend. This is my photographic DNA. I love to forge images of the wild and natural world. Perhaps, I am trying to express and recapture a time I recall so fondly, or simply looking at old adventures in a new way. Looking back, I once was a paperboy that biked around the neighborhood until I worked in an Italian bakery in the Bronx. Time progressed; I set off to college, a first for the third of four boys, met my future wife, and made a living as a plumber in the off times. I started my young career in the sciences, as a Chemist. Research focused primarily on the causes of cancer. Still ever curious I headed back to school to study Computer Science, and I have been a Software Engineer every since, modeling abstract concepts into tangible software. I am proud of what I have accomplished so far in my life, but none more than the simplicity of fatherhood. I have two bright-eyed and curious children with whom I share simple adventures and forge fond memories. Imagine, walking hand-in-hand with the "dream that stared upon you" with two small children trailing in your shadows, combing the beach for the Ocean’s treasures. Is there no sweeter light?
Bemagine, the concept flows from the desire to express personal experience and sentiment in a fluid manner. It simply translates to, be the imagination. The mantra of this state of being, live and experience, but also, reminisce and cherish. Through this medium I share illuminations of the world I see.