Images in the Backcountry is the creative vision of landscape and nature photographer, Mike Matenkosky.
I was born and raised in Southwestern Pennsylvania. It was during my early years playing in the woods in my backyard and as a Boy Scout that I developed an appreciation of the outdoors.
I now live in the heart of the Central Valley, California. Which means I’m 80 miles from Yosemite, where I spent my free time backpacking, hiking and taking pictures of my journeys. Besides hiking and backpacking I’m a car guy, owning a 1968 Dodge Coronet 500 convertible and a 1969 Pontiac Firebird 400.
My Passion – Landscape Photography
I am awestruck by the beauty of God’s Creation. From the smallest bird to the largest mountain; I love it all, but my passion is landscape photography. I enjoy capturing the moment and feeling I get when I’m out in the outdoors and convert that image I see with my eyes, into that picture – that experience – for all to see, forever.
New Challenges Ahead…
Around 2004, I began to experience joint pain in both of my knees. Unfortunately, my doctors were not able to repair my knees, and now, both have been permanently fused straight. Now I walk like a Penguin!
With this new challenge, I still have the same passion as before, but not by backpacking but by car-side or on short hikes. This has prompted me to publish my first 120-page coffee table book called, “Along the Road A Photo-journal by Car, Wheelchair and Other Accessible Locations”.
Features
I was featured in the January 2011 issue of Guideposts magazine called Into the Beauty. Along with that, they made a short video: Taking Photos with Mike Matenkosky.