Stephanie Raygoza
Staff Writer
Matt Simmerman has been immersed in the world of photography ever since he was old enough to use a camera. Having started out using a film camera for his first class in the 9th grade, he has come to appreciate life on manual focus and now, with a more stabilized mindframe, is setting out to document the community.
Simmerman’s approach to photography and life is free-spirited and not structured at all. Recently meeting with a close friend and fellow photographer resparked his interest in the hobby, made him more passionate about his pictures and gave him a better sense of direction.
“I like to showcase all the positivity and great things in life,” he said. “At the same time, I like to mix it up and take some of the pictures where it kind of brings us back to reality and lets us know that not everything is perfect.”
His photography showcases the different cities he works and plays in, from Long Beach and Signal Hill to the urban, devastating streets in Los Angeles, when he makes trips for his multi-faceted clothing company, Dubtree. Through his company’s blog, he is able to infuse his photography with the brand and help create a lifestyle for Dubtree.
“I try to showcase again what I go through every day to do Dubtree and let [the community] see my company through my eyes,” he said. “It’s not uncommon to see me in cities all over taking photos.”
His photos, such as the ones taken on Hilltop Park, show an ability to work with depth of field and a style known as bokeh, which is the ability to focus the camera on a specific object and blur out everything behind it. With the recent upgrade to a Nikon DSLR, he favors taking eccentric photos using a tripod late at night and creating a time-warp effect with the varying shots. The hilltop set of photos was produced on a whim on a day when he was running errands and simply took the time to look up at the clouds.
“I just had this idea, if the sun starts to peak through the clouds it’s going to look amazing,” he said. “On my way up there, it started opening up and everything I thought was going to happen, happened. That set was really fun to shoot because it was the first time I kind of guessed the weather and really put myself in a good position. Just being up on top of the hill and looking down on the city, it was just too perfect.”
Having studied video and film production in college, the idea of taking his hobby to a professional level is a step forward he says he can definitely see himself taking. Simmerman has and still continues to shoot and spotlight musicians, and even disc jockeys, and he will often snap pictures of individuals modeling his latest clothing designs, all of which can be found on his blog website.
And while photography may be his passion, his heart and ambitions are deeply rooted in the Dubtree community. Started last year as a Myspace page, the T-shirt business that started out at as hobby has evolved into a lifestyle that only continues to grow more with each day. The merchandise menu is based on band mentality, which he picked up during the years he toured as a musician with his former band, and prices start at $11 for T-shirts and range up to $25 for hooded sweatshirts.
“I’m not in it to try to make trillions of dollars. If I could just make back what I put into it so I can make more, I’m happy,” he said. “Each line that we release, we’re able to add something new to it, like a new sweatshirt or a hooded sweatshirt or a zip-up sweatshirt. Each collection has something a little more elaborate.”
His idea for the company stems from his struggles growing up in a single-income family in Long Beach and the years having to shop at thrift stores and second-hand stores for clothing. Dubtree is catered toward single-income and economically challenged families and produces clothing with new designs released every season.
With his fall and winter clothing collection release and the holiday season fast approaching, Simmerman hopes to launch a fully functioning online store by late November or early December. He plans on having skateboard contests and events for kids, arts-and-crafts seminars and various other activities that pay tribute to the grassroots following the business has developed over the months.
Dubtree takes 20 percent of their profit and gives it back to the community, and, as an acronym, the name stands for: driven unstoppable belief towards reaching environmental elegance.
“A lot of it is just developing a stronger community within our website and making it again just functioning for all the photography people or those just looking for something good to do within their community,” he said. “It’s the ability to want to clothe the community, and that’s what we do.”
More Information
dubtreecollection.com
