Many photographers on Google+ had the privilege of meeting +Matthew Bell this year. It was a tremendous shock to receive this note from his father this week:
"I don't know if you have heard that Matt died of a heart attack on October 17. He was at a remote beach near Lompoc doing what he loved to do in a beautiful place."
Matt, first person on the right in this photo, participated in the multi-day G+ Photowalks that +Lori Hibbett and I organized to Valley of Fire in Nevada, in the Eastern Sierra region of California, and even to our little local rodeo in the town of Bridgeport (population 300, the county seat of Mono County).
Those of you who met Matt know that he enjoyed his time with you immensely. He always had a smile on his face, whether meeting at 5 am to catch the best pre-dawn diffuse light in a slot canyon, hiking through muddy marshes at Mono Lake to capture a sunset moon rise, or setting up his star tracking mount at 10 pm to capture the night sky.
On behalf of Matt and his family, I'd like to thank everyone who met or interacted with Matt for the encouragement and recognition offered him from fellow photographers on G+.
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Comments
fantasticas
Fine tim,very nice pictures,thanks
Wow, I am stunned, had to read the bold text twice in fact. This is such devastating news. Matt was such a nice guy and a good photographer. I only met him during this one trip, but enjoyed hearing of his ambitions to travel to remote places and explore them for weeks. Rest in peace Matt.
OMG, I am speechless. I had to read it twice before it sunk in. It is a tragic death, he was so full of plans, seemed to have his goals straight and was pursuing them… I will have fond memories of our photography sessions together during the photowalk.
Very Sad
For all Photographs https://plus.google.com/u/0/115934692843078488470/posts/hoDeuPcugcg
I am so saddened by this….I so enjoyed my interactions with Matt here. Thank you for letting us know :'(
Oh no! This really made me sad! He was such a nice and friendly person.
I've been in shock. It was a pleasure and an honor to have gotten to know and spend time with Matt. I was very much looking forward to seeing him again.
🙁
Wow, I cant believe. It was such wonderful person and always smiling. I met him at the photowalk at Mono Lake we had great conversations. Its sad to hear that. Rest in peace Matthew
Always sad to hear of someone going down in their prime with so much potential ahead of them. Condolences to his friends and family…
Oh my god! What sad news! I am sad to hear when someone so young and full of life passes WAY too soon! He was such a nice and gentle person!
That is very sad news. I had to read it several times as well 🙁 He was such a nice, intelligent and passionate man. My heart goes out to his family.
🙁 Sad news indeed
Im saddened to hear that Matt past away as I have looked forward to meet him in person. We exchanged a few emails as he was always out and about and tried to meet up with him, just always missed each other. I think the best thing that can happen to a person is passing away while doing what you love to do. My condolences go to Matt's family and friends.
I don't know him, but think this is very sad news and he was so young. My prayers goes to his family and friends.
Very sad.
This is such sad news. I read it a few times too. He was a nice and friendly guy spend time with. My condolences to his family and friend.
This is such sad news. I read it a few times too. He was a nice and friendly guy spend time with. My condolences to his family and friend.
Very sad news, way too soon to go :-(. It was very nice to meet him on the eastern sierra nevada trip. My condolences go out to his family.
very sad news…. I am sorry for the loss of a friend to those of you who knew him…..
Such sad news of fellow photographer, who I've enjoyed following his posts and hoped to meet someday. My condolences to his family and friends.
Rest in Peace!
I am so sad about this. Rest in peace, Matthew
I am sorry to say I did not know Matthew, and even sorrier to hear of his passing ;(
I'm so sorry to here this. I loved his work.
How sad, I only know him from our interactions here and never had the pleasure of meeting him in person but seemed like such a nice guy. He knew all of my favorite jeep trails and we had hoped to meet up this fall. My condolences to his family, he will be missed.
How very sad. Thanks for letting us know here about it. My condolences to his family and friends.
I'm so sad, but thanks for letting us know. I'm sure his friends and family know how much we enjoyed his work and his presence here.
Such a sad news, +Jeff Sullivan . I wish you strenght in this hard time.
This made me really sad to here. I am glad I was able to get to know Matthew on a few photo trips, it was always great to talk with him. Thanks for sharing the news Jeff