Mattson Culbert

A camera accessory is how Ho Stevie got our start and we’d love to know how you all first started taking photos or making videos

Thursday December 28, 2023 at one of my favorite hangouts. The minimalist approach and pulled back view for your enjoyment. Little known fact… I don’t spend nearly as much time (or hours) shooting swells like I did in my 20s and 30s. I pick a time of day and theme I think will best convey what the swell had to offer. I chose that golden hour light an hour before dark for Thursday. Enjoy ✌️. Friday and more coming soon. #fujifilmxseries #fujixs10 #vscocam #vsco #surfsup #swell #waves #pumping #california #goldenhour #12282023 #california #sd #sandiego #lajolla #wavesfordays #wavesfordays🌊 #mattsonculbertphoto #abovesd

Here we go again! Hurricane🌀Hilary made us all kind of reassess and have to realign. I know much more good will come from this rescheduling of #CreatorFest2023 event at @nelsonphotoandvideo on October 1, 2023! 🔥💥✨ Truth be told having to install everything on my own since August 20th (the added 5 weeks) was a blessing in disguise. Maybe I overdid it with the amount of images that I framed at 37😬. This has been a really long and emotionally/mentally challenging process in many ways for me. Displaying something people would like, respect, and be inspired by is a lot in itself. As many dedicated creatives a lot of my self worth has come from what I have documented for many years. But on another level it’s very personal because a part of me is being shown publicly. I’ve always struggled with “being enough”, “being unique”, and my lack of equipment or so I’ve thought in my own head. Maybe being a perfectionist is part of my issue with not having to start and be vulnerable with everyone seeing my work. This whole thing hasn’t been about me just showing my work… it’s been about stepping out of my comfort zone, having grace and pride for myself for all the time I’ve put into everything I’ve ever shot. 25 years is a long time to dedicate yourself to something and I’ve sacrificed a lot of things to still be doing this. Learning to just accept myself and being happy with what I’ve accomplished in these last ten years is enough. Moving to San Diego was the best decision @heyitsme_pia and I ever made especially helping my photography really grow. Thank you Will and everyone at @nelsonphotoandvideo putting up with me coming in every day practically the last two weeks in the back 😬. I will let you all know when everything is up and on point to view. Being a full-time stay at home dad again the last 5 months along with, dance dad, jiu Jitsu coach 😬, and husband while trying to be creative and set up a photo exhibition has been exhausting for lack of a better term. I hope you all enjoy what I’ve chosen and to say hello to me on October 1st. Thank you for the continued support ✌️🥰👍✨💯-Mattson #mattsonculbertphoto #marinehues #creatorfest #nelsonphoto #sandiego #sd

The idea of a giant coffee table book of images the last few years has been a constant source of inspiration for myself. In doing so I have been going through photos of each month from the last 20 or so years seeing if any hidden gems emerge. So here are some memories from the month of MAY since 2011. Beach and surf inspired as usual. It is quite strange how quickly 15 years can fly by. Enjoy ✌️🤩👍✨. #mattsonculbertphoto #beach #ocean #surf #surfing

A lot to think about and reflect on lately after another surgery almost two weeks back. I am okay and healing quickly but after being operated on for the fifth time you get to a more comfortable place to deal mentally. At 48 I don’t feel any real regrets in my life now. Doesn’t mean I haven’t made mistakes or felt guilty/embarrassing moments but… it brought me to a special place of clarity in life. Not perfect or complete just a feeling of self worth and inner peace. The world 🌎 can feel chaotic and empty at times. But most of us want many simple pleasures like love, respect, and kindness. Here are twenty images from the last week I thought would pair nicely with a short message of inner strength. Your mind and inner spirit can always make it through tough or difficult times if you realize how much you have already been through. Enjoy. - Mattson ✌️#mattsonculbertphoto #beach #ocean #california #sandiego

Couldn’t think of a better person to personify this message from @sterlingspencer on @pinchmysaltshow than @queenofblackies 🤩👍✨💥🔥. My good friend and long lost Mexican cousin Vanessa making an appearance down here a few weeks ago 🫶. My last session in ocean since surgery glad it was this one. All clips shot with @gopro ✨. #mattsonculbertvideo #watershotbymattson #ocean #surfing #surfer

#EarthDay2026🌎 🌊☀️🌈 🌸🪸🍀Lucky and grateful would be an understatement with all the beautiful places I’ve been able to experience and document in my life. I think in the hustle and grind of life we can forgot how connected we are to the environment around us. When I am feeling a bit off I know it’s usually because I haven’t “grounded” myself in the sand, soil, and ocean. Life has a funny way of making you always return to the simplest of pleasures like walking on the beach or taking in a sunset. Being through so many different hard times especially with my body and health after another surgery lately those hour beach walks really help. Wanted to share some beautiful moments from the last year I’ve shot mostly with my #fujifilmx100v and @gopro edited with @vsco 🤩🫶✨. Enjoy #ocean #mattsonculbertphoto #vsco

Here's mat is heading to surf photographer and fringe surfcraft rider, Mattson Culbert @mattsonculbert Mattson lives in San Diego, CA where he rides many types of wave riding vehicles from handplanes, paipo and bodyboards to surfmats. Mattson said: "My first introduction to surf mats started in the mid 1980s on the old yellow and blue Surf Rider mats at my grandparents beach house in Cayucos, CA as a kid. In 2014 after I moved from my beloved point breaks of Santa Barbara to San Diego I also started riding Jon Wegener’s wooden paipo and that lead me back to other fringe craft. During the lockdown of 2020 I got a new surfmat and a rekindled love of gliding on waves." Mattson spends most of his time now at the beach breaks, reefs, and one special point break in and around Pacific Beach and La Jolla now. He chose the name of the “Maddog Mat” for this minty fresh mat after his old nickname while working at CI Surfboards from 2007-2014 before moving to San Diego. Mattson was pretty clear on wanting an RB-JMC. We tossed around a few ideas but the balls out down the line speed of a 70/70 neg rockered free-breather RB-JMC was what grabbed his attention. So when you see this plus size core lord flying past you on the high line in San Diego, know it’s because of the extra gear in his G-Mat! 😘 Have fun Mattson and keep it minty my brother! Cheers G

I think it is the time to finally commit to a full-time print shop soon …after so many requests over the years. To be honest it’s not that I don’t want to share and have my work for purchase as easily but I find it daunting… to pick ten or so images because I obsessively overthink what would sell well 😵‍💫🙃🫠. So I figured I’d put up 10 horizontal images (5 I’d like to sell) and 10 vertical ones. Maybe you can tell me which 5 of each or even 10 you like best or would want to purchase in the future!? I have sold a lot off one of pieces and some bigger prints for friends homes but I think it’s time to have something everyone can easily order. I will still be open to custom prints and commissions. But it is time to share some work I think will make some people happy to own. Honestly I am not going to put some of my personal favorites out yet because I’d like to save those for a giant coffee table book by next year also. So if you enjoy my work and find a few pieces you like or have a top 10 please share in the comments thank you 🙏 everyone. All of these images were shot here in San Diego County the last 12 years we have lived here. Much appreciated and grateful for all your support over the years. -Mattson ✌️😎👍✨ #mattsonculbertphoto #sandiego #beach #ocean #california

Winter recap of from 12/21/25 until 3/20/2026 here…Against my better judgement I should be asleep but when these bursts of creative energy hit me late at night I try to take advantage of it. The pros: warmest winter I can ever remember in California, warmest ocean since 1997, tons of amazing sunsets 🌅, great light, lowest king tides of the year to start the year off, and nailing a once in a lifetime shot I haven’t shared yet. The cons: no swell much bigger than 10ft except on Feb. 2 and 8th, Definitely nothing over 15ft which is rare, the crowds that the ☀️ brings out that typically aren’t as normal, and the sand is shifting in a lot of places. My surf and beach predictions for spring, summer and early winter 2026-2027. That Strong”Godzilla” El Niño is looking very possible but as someone who’s studied weather, surf, and patterns for 35 years my prediction is… if we can get one or two strong tropical summer swells I think we are in store for some serious 🌊. Based on what Mattson you ask… if you remember the historic El Niño of 1997-1998 we had 17 tropical storms and swells hit from June-Nov 97’ and 3 of which were the biggest I have ever seen until Hurricane Marie August 2014 the last time a warm blob of ocean was this big this early just saying🤔. Enjoy my beach influencer videos also 😂. Most photos shot with @fujifilmx_us and edited with @vsco ✌️🤩 #sandiego #beach #vsco #mattsonculbertphoto #ocean

Had to get in on the 90s throwback that a lot of people from my generation have been doing lately. Crazy to think I graduated high school 30 years ago come June 😆💀🫠👍✨💥. This is more of the Southern California surfer dude/ hardcore/punk 90s teen edition. Photos from 1992-1999 🤩🫶. Was a magical time and glad to grow up when I did. #90s #1990something #90ssurfer #90sthrowback #90steen 👁️ spy @k_elly_california @5fowlersgo @malibugirl007 Thanks for photos @coreykwilliams @b_rycemaygren @xgregflackx @beck805 ✌️

“Silence is not the absence of something but the presence of everything” - Gordon Hempton … Life the last 5 weeks and some moments of serene tranquility. Sometimes it’s better to just watch, observe, and enjoy what is happening around you. One year cancer free and a lifetime of happiness, gratitude, and being at peace with my own thoughts 💭. More to be said in the near future but enjoy San Diego’s color palette 🎨 here and some other inspiring images. Images shot with @fujifilmx_us and edited with @vsco #mattsonculbertphoto #beach #ocean #sandiego #grateful