Matthew Bamberg
Writer/Photographer
The Text and Image Guy
Overview
Matthew Bamberg’s short story collection weaves a tapestry of Florida life, set against the backdrop of the Cuban Revolution and the counterculture upheavals of the 1960s. Drawing from his suburban Miami upbringing in historic Coconut Grove, Bamberg introduces a quirky protagonist spiraling into the bizarre--Cuban immigration, the occult, Vietnam War protests, drugs, and inconsistent values. He navigates prophecy, faith, and acceptance through eccentric interactions and sharp internal debates. The story captures readers' attention through the sharp dialogue that reveals blossoming ambivalence toward family and friends.
Bamberg’s career interests began as a boy with a focus on meteorology as part of the short story collection to produce the stark contrast of two worlds: one of science during which he followed his interest in storms from thunderstorms to hurricanes to his work in a groundbreaking South Florida cloud-seeding experiment at the same time as being swept up into the 1960s and 70s Coconut Grove counterculture.
Later, after moving to San Francisco in the 1980s, Bamberg taught in public schools in the Bay Area while earning an interdisciplinary master’s degree in the arts from San Francisco State University.
The quirky drama of Bamberg’s literary fiction, based on real life, weaves the art and science of questioning occult values, then moves on to graduate studies of the interdisciplinary arts’ impact on the societal boundaries of youth morality.
By the 1990s, Bamberg merged writing and photography, focusing on history and social justice. His work evolved into nonfiction, with contributions to publications such as The Desert Sun and Palm Springs Life, as well as a travel column titled "One Tank Trips." His passion for photography culminated in the Digital Art Photography for Dummies (2005) and 11 additional books in the 101 Quick and Easy Secrets series.
Today, Bamberg continues engaging with pressing local and national issues,
With his wide background in a variety of subjects, Bamberg focuses his writing (what he refers to as “text and image”) on preservation and historically based mid-century articles, stories, and photographs. Think of Matthew Bamberg’s style as a combination of historian/writer Studs Turkle meeting the images of twentieth-century photographer Walker Evans.
Matthew Bamberg is an accomplished photographer and writer, shooting and penning about all that remains from or resembles the twentieth century. His extensive writing on Medium.com includes over 300 generalist articles (on topics across many fields), from newsy op-eds about education to photography tips.
Sample Images
Education
About Critical Thinking from a Critical Thinking Professor
Critical thinking should be taught in tandem with a specific subject discipline.
- "Research shows that, while critical thinking can be taught, it can’t be taught on its own — at least not effectively. Daniel Willingham, cognitive scientist, writes that attempts to teach general thinking abilities through logical and spatial puzzles, for example, as parts of courses added on to the curriculum, are generally unsuccessful. These skills don’t “transfer” to thinking in other domains, but generally remain tied to the logic games where they’re learned" (Bouygues, 2022).
- The challenging aspect of critical thinking is maintaining an open mind when exploring alternative perspectives, just as you do when reading content that aligns with your beliefs.
- “The principal goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done; men and women who are creative, inventive, and discoverers, who can be critical and verify, and not accept, everything they are offered.” --Jean Piaget
- Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail.”--Ralph Waldo Emerson
Nonfiction Coming Soon
Mirroring the Twentieth Century Masters Photographs
Masters is a comprehensive guide that explores the artistic strategies and messages of influential 20th-century photographers.
The book is divided into three parts:
The Evolution of Themes:
This section traces the development of key themes in 20th-century photography, analyzing iconic works such as Dorothea Lange’s Depression-era images and Robert Doisneau’s photography.
Adapting Master Approaches for Today:
This section discusses how contemporary photographers can apply the techniques of masters like Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Harry Callahan, and Tina Modotti to address modern social issues.
Technical Aspects of Photography:
The final section focuses on the technical elements—such as perspective, exposure, and photo essays—that can be used to create compelling visual narratives for societal change.
The book includes images selected from over a million photographs taken over the past two decades, emphasizing how master techniques can be used to tell stories about social and environmental change.
It serves as a valuable resource for students, enthusiasts, and general readers interested in photography, art history, and popular culture.
Fine Art Photography
A Man for Whom Nothing Mattered
A Matthew Bamberg Poem
A man for whom nothing mattered,
Except him, torn and tattered;
Who did many things in his life,
And not a thing for his wife.He ate alone and slept alone,
A hidden person, like a dog’s underground bone.He always looked down,
Right close to the ground.
His wife, nothing but a fixture
For other men to see as his mixture.He stayed, along with her, in a bowl;
They met many but never a soul—
Not even his own, nor that of a clone.The man and his wife took to the beach.
She sat, apparently annoyed.
He listened inside his head
And believed he was dead.And with a frown,
He went for a swim and began to drown.Bobbing up and down with a wave,
His entitlement threw him for a loop.
The man reached up and suddenly gave a hoot.When a lifeguard reached him in a flash,
Powering her arm ‘round him fast,
The clever servant splashed across.As the man was lugged,
The current lost its shove.
He thought he must hang on,
Or he’d be gone.They reached the shore.
The battered man ran to his wife for sure.
Reaching a shove and a thrust,
She grabbed him by the bust.“You must say thank you so much!”
He acknowledged the lifeguard.And dropped to the ground.
“I owe you one,” he grinned.
No longer was he pinned.As his inside mind flipped out,
He peered at his wife with a shout:
“I understand now!” With a lift of his brow,
“I love you, wife, here and now.”