Matt grew up in New Jersey and his childhood was filled with trips to aquariums, museums and zoos. He developed a deep love for wildlife and the ocean and sharks in particular. Matt graduated with degrees in Biology and Marine Science from Rutgers University and began doing marine biology fieldwork with the Bimini Biological Field Station-Sharklab. He led research on species as different as southern stingrays and whale sharks working for the NSU Oceanographic Center, The Shark Research Institute, and WWF-Tanzania. During his travels, Matt decided to get a digital camera to record the things he was seeing on his research trips. That hobby turned into an addiction and eventually a second career in commercial studio photography. However, his passion is using photography to show the wonder and beauty (and sometimes the threats) of the underwater world that many people never see with their own eyes.