Matthew Price was on track for a career tinerking away in a sterilised lab, before a move to Western Australia changed the game up.

Leaving behind a chemistry degree on the NSW South Coast, Matthew fell in with a crew of Perth photographers and videographers, who’ve managed to crack the code to work-life balance: getting paid to travel. It was on one such ‘work’ trip that Matthew came across the shifting sands of a Middle Eastern desert, took his phone out, and snapped what would become the winning image of the Shot on Mobile category (presented by Boost Mobile) of our 2022 MC Photo Comp. We caught up with Matthew as he’s pocketing the big bucks to find out more about his life on the road and his other creative pursuits getting a cash injection in the wake of his win.

Can you tell us a little more about the story behind your winning photo?
This is insane. We were lucky enough to get invited to Abu Dhabi earlier this year to create content for Visit Abu Dhabi. Our friend and photographer, Ben Mack, was also there and had visited this spot where the sand had completely gone over the road and created this really cool landscape. We got up at 5 am and drove our car out to this random dropped pin in the middle of the desert, opened someone’s fence and drove into what felt like a restricted area. All of a sudden, we come across multiple highways covered by sweeping dunes; it was actually unreal and one of the most insane moments I’ve ever been a part of. All the boys were frothing. I stood in the middle looking back at the dune during sunrise and I took the photo on my phone—it felt like it was a stock Apple wallpaper or something, it didn’t feel real when I looked at it. But it’s one of my favourite photos I have ever taken.

How do you plan to spend your prize money?
The concept of receiving money for a photo I took is still surreal! However, I’m big into music and actually have a song coming out with my friend Jordan Collyer, so will probably spend some of that money towards the single release. I’ll also probably get an acoustic guitar and a surfboard! The other few K will go into a dormant savings account. Yew!

What have you been shooting at the moment?
The boys and I have travelled a fair bit this year which has been an absolute blessing. We’re doing work for a bunch of clothing brands which are super fun, plus Jetstar, Gage Roads… pretty much any brand that wants a group of young people running amok at the beach, in 4WDs or flipping off waterfalls. A lot of our content revolves around the beach and skating so we’re out there pretty much every day having fun and experimenting.

What do you like to do when you’re not shooting photos?
As I mentioned, I really enjoy playing and making music. With a song coming out hopefully at the end of this year, that’s keeping me really busy but is also super exciting. Myself and Jordan cannot wait to get that out. I’m heavily involved in my local church also, so there’s always stuff happening there which also keeps me busy. Coming into summer in Western Australia, we spend about 95% of our time at the beach so you’ll probably find me going on a down south surf trip every weekend chasing waves.

Any plans for 2023 that include your camera?
The boys and I (The Calais Crew) have already booked in some mega trips to Hawaii and hopefully Japan early in the year. We will keep travelling as much as possible and take some brands with us to shoot content. That way, we can travel almost full-time but also make money as we go. In a world of short-form content, I still have a love for longer-form content like vlogs and day in the lives, so I might get that up and going which would be really sick… I also really want keep developing my skills in photography and videography and continue to inspire others to pick up a camera.

See more from Matthew on his Instagram @mattthewprice