People have been telling me since 2006 that I need to sell my photos online. To put that in perspective for you, I didn’t launch the Matt Gove Photo website until 2009. Over the years, I somehow managed to come up with all kinds of excuses. I was too busy working on other projects. Logistics and sales tax laws were too complicated. The list goes on and on.
Then COVID-19 came along changed everything. After the pandemic exposed some horrific flaws in my business model, I had an epiphany. Instead of wallowing in the sorrows of lockdowns, let’s seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Learn some new skills, patch those holes in the business model, and bring something good to the world.
As a result, I am so excited to announce the new Matt Gove Photo store to you. Everything is on target to launch the store in late May or early June, 2021.
A Brief History
I first fell in love with photography as a college student in Florida back in 2006, when I started photographing sailing regattas where I volunteered. By early 2008, I had received my first request from a sailor wanting to buy a photo I had taken of them. At the time, I was deep into my junior year of college and knew nothing about running a business. I opted to just give the photos away via email and Facebook.
By September, 2008, demand for my photos exceeded my ability to send them out to people. At the time, Facebook was still only available to college students, which heavily limited the audience. As a result of the ensuing frustration, Matt Gove Photo was born in January, 2009. I finally had my own platform to share and distribute photos. More importantly, you could access photos when and where you wanted to without having to bug me.
Ever since then, I have always wanted to launch a store to sell photos. In 2010, I made my first attempt to set up a photo store. Unfortunately, my lack of experience at the time coupled with the after-effects of the Great Recession led to that venture failing spectacularly.
As my goals changed throughout the 2010s, the photo store largely remained an afterthought. Even after starting Matthew Gove Web Development, LLC in 2016, I thought about giving the store another go a few times. When I wasn’t too busy working on other projects, I couldn’t come up with the money to fund the store’s launch.
Everything changed once the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Motivation: Why Are We Launching the Photo Store?
It took us over a decade of adventure and exploration to find our true mission. Watching firsthand the horrific 20 May, 2013 EF-5 tornado tear a deep 4-mile long gash through the heart of Moore, Oklahoma was hard to put into words. Photography really helped capture and process all of the different emotions I felt during both the tornado and the recovery. It let me tell the story in a way that’s so much more powerful than words. Ever since that day, I try to tell a story with every photo and photo series I produce.
Photography is also an incredibly effective way to bring awareness to issues you’re passionate about. After moving to Arizona in 2015, I started taking routine trips to Mexico to expand my horizons even further. Stepping across the border and looking at your home country from the outside is a truly eye-opening experience. Photography is an incredibly powerful means to engage communities and raise awareness both at home and abroad. If the store can generate enough income to be able to help solve even one of the world’s issues, it will have made the effort to open the store worth it.
The Importance of Photography in Today’s Media-Rich World
If you don’t think photography is important across all sectors of the economy today, consider these statistics. A 2019 study surveyed web users about media and graphics in the context of web design.
- Judgements on a company’s credibility are 75% based on the design of its website.
- First impressions are 94% related to the look and design of a website
- 46% of consumers base their purchasing decisions on the aesthetic appeal of the company’s website.
Which of our websites would you be more inclined to purchase something from? The 2013 version (which I cringe looking at today)?
Or the 2021 version?
I rest my case.
Photography, videography, and graphic design are playing a major role in the diversification and expansion of Matthew Gove Web Development in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. With every day that goes by, the demand for rich media only continues to grow. Without stunning graphics, you are only putting yourself behind. In the worst-case scenario, you’ll go out of business altogether.
The Matt Gove Photo store is just a small piece of the master puzzle. Whether you’re adding character to your workplace or creating a central talking point in your home, our landscape photography will help you establish a high-quality brand that is trustworthy and dependent.
What Can You Buy?
We have partnered with several photo labs and wholesalers to bring you the finest lineup of products featuring our breathtaking travel landscape and nature photography from across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and beyond. We’re including free shipping to the mainland United States (the Lower 48) on every item in the store.
- Standard, Metal, Canvas, Acrylic, and Wood Prints
- Available in sizes up to 48×96 inches (122×244 cm)
- Frames ranging from simple and elegant to exotic are made from the finest metals and woods
- Fine Art Photography
- Collages and Photo Art
- Home and Office Accessories
- Coffee Mugs
- Mouse Pads
- Coasters
- Face Masks
- Much More
- Books and Calendars
- Photo Licensing
- Clothing and Merchandise
Both our wall art and our fine art landscape photography are a great way to add a little flair to your office or workplace. Hang a picture of a nearby tourist attraction to boost your brand and bring more customers into your store. Whisk yourself away to an exotic location when you can’t stand your annoying boss anymore. Or just add a cheery scene to boost your office morale.
You can also bring our photos into your home. Unwind from a stressful day in front of a serene water or seascape. On the other hand, pump your adrenaline with a dramatic mountain, cliff, or canyon landscape. Best of all, put a central talking point in your living room when you host your post-COVID-19 social gatherings. Do you really want to deal with that inevitable awkwardness when you see your in-laws for the first time in a year and a half?
When Will Everything be Available?
The store will initially launch around Memorial Day, with the remaining items added over the summer.
Photo Prints and Fine Art Photography
All photo prints and fine art photography will be part of the initial store launch. Right now, everything is on track for the grand opening to be sometime around Memorial Day.
Merchandise, Accessories, and Collectibles
The rest of the store items will roll out over the summer. I will be announcing launch dates for everything on our Facebook page as well as this blog. My goal is to have everything rolled out by the end of July.
Photo Licenses
Photo licenses are available today! We grant licenses for all commercial, journalism/educational, and personal uses. You can sign up for a license directly on our website.
New Beginnings Mean New Adventures: We’re Setting Off to Travel the World
Have you ever heard the saying “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone”? Nothing rings more true after losing our traveling and photography adventures to the COVID-19 lockdowns. Being shut down for over a year makes you question everything that’s brought you to this point. Fortunately, those doubts have only strengthened the drive to adventure, travel, and reinforce our values.
As the world opens back up, we will be expanding our operations far beyond the border of the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Life under lockdown made me realize just how important my traveling and photography adventures are. If you’re not going to do it now, when will you? In addition to opening up new experiences, traveling the world will elevate your status as a global citizen.
A global citizen is someone who is aware of the world and has a sense of their role in it. They are involved as members of the international community and are committed to building on this community in a meaningful and positive way. Becoming a global citizen will broaden your global perspective and allow you to bring fresh, new views back to your own community. As I mentioned earlier, photography is an incredibly powerful means to engage communities and raise awareness both at home and abroad.
When Do We Expect Travel Operations to Resume?
On 10 March, 2020, we made the painful, yet necessary decision to indefinitely suspend all travel operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That indefinite suspension remains in place to this day.
Fortunately, things are coming into focus as things continue to open up. While we expect to lift the indefinite suspension within the next month or two, it will be longer than that before we embark on any serious adventures. Travel is tentatively scheduled to resume in Fall, 2021. We will definitely be making some local day trip adventures before then!
So where are we heading for the first adventure of our world travels? I don’t want to give too much away, but we’ve got our eyes on the rich culture, exotic cenotes, and Mayan ruins of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. As always, you’re invited to join us on the adventure both on this blog and on the Matt Gove Photo website.
You’re Invited Grand Opening Sale! Get 40% Off Everything in the Store.
While we don’t have a set opening date yet, everything in the store will be 40% off for the first week following the grand opening. Give us a follow on Facebook for the latest updates. Be the first to know when we announce the store’s official opening dates and when we roll out additional products this summer.
Conclusion
As much as launching the Matt Gove Photo store has been a dream for much of the past 15 years, it means so much more than that now. After 14 months of lockdown, it’s a major step in the return to normalcy. Instead of worrying whether your next trip to the grocery store is going to kill you, you can actually think about starting to put some firm travel plans into place. I can’t wait. Where will your next adventure take you?
Top Photo: Crystal Clear Turquoise Waters in one of the many lagoons at Lake Tahoe
Near Sand Harbor, Nevada – February, 2020