On Yurt Life, Pose Downs, and Engaging with the Flow

An interview with adventure photographer, Matthew Van Biene

In the winter of 2015, a laptop called our cell phone at eleven in the morning. It was Matt calling from his yurt in the woods, just outside of Mount Index in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State. For him, it was eight in the morning, which meant it was still dark inside the trees, and the ground had just begun to soften. We were in a loft, overlooking an intersection of car horns. Both of us had fresh pots of coffee sitting before us.

We go way back with Matt. One of our editors grew up a few cul-de-sacs apart, best buds until an adolescent move that separated them for fifteen years. Until we saw a few of his photographs published by Patagonia. We were struck by the alpine ridge lines that tucked behind the jagged edge of earth, humans sleeping on the side of vertical cliffs 2,000 feet above solid soil, and smiles covered in dirt and pain. We couldn’t look at his imagery and remain still. They showcased the wildness of Mother Nature, but more than that, within each shot, the presence of people.

We asked Matt to select ten images that spoke to his portfolio, passion, and perspective, and for two hours, we reconnected over what it means to disconnect and discover. Choose a track below in the playlist, find the corresponding image, and get lost in his words, work, and world.

To see more, visit his website at Van Biene Photography.