Ray Matthews Photography

Ray Matthews Photography I have a desire to make tangible images from the endless, fleeting possibilities, and to share these small revelations with anyone who cares to look.

"Shore Break in Offshore Wind"A single wave curls and catches the light, its crest blown back by offshore wind in a flee...
06/08/2026

"Shore Break in Offshore Wind"

A single wave curls and catches the light, its crest blown back by offshore wind in a fleeting moment of raw beauty.

There's a kind of magic in the space between rise and collapse — where blue and green swirl together inside the barrel, and sunlight turns the spray to gold. You can almost hear the roar, almost feel the salt mist on your skin. This is the Atlantic at its most alive, sculpted by wind and gravity into something that exists for only a second before it's gone.

Ray had an eye for these moments — the ones most of us experience and forget, but that he somehow held still long enough for the rest of us to really see.

Purchase this print:
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/shore-break-in-offshore-wind-ray-matthews.html

Browse many more photos from Ray at:
https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/3-ray-matthews

"Cape Lookout Beach & Umbrella"Sun-washed sand mirrors the sky where the tide has just pulled away.There’s a certain fee...
05/12/2026

"Cape Lookout Beach & Umbrella"

Sun-washed sand mirrors the sky where the tide has just pulled away.

There’s a certain feeling that arrives this time of year — when spring begins loosening its grip and summer starts gathering at the edges of the day. On a nearly empty stretch of barrier island beach, the season feels close enough to touch. A bright umbrella catches the light, seagulls trace lazy arcs above the surf, and the Atlantic shimmers in impossible shades of turquoise beneath a widening sky. It’s the kind of moment that quietly reminds you what’s waiting just ahead: longer days, salt in the air, and afternoons that seem to drift on forever.

Ray had a gift for capturing these quiet coastal moments — the ones that feel effortless but stay with you long after you've left the shore.

Purchase this print:
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/cape-lookout-beach-and-umbrella-ray-matthews.html

Browse many more photos from Ray at:
https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/3-ray-matthews

"Sunrise in Nags Head #3"The sky ignites over the Atlantic as morning breaks through a canopy of seaalong the Outer Ban...
05/04/2026

"Sunrise in Nags Head #3"

The sky ignites over the Atlantic as morning breaks through a canopy of seaalong the Outer Banks shore.

There's a stillness to those first moments of daylight — when deep purples surrender to fire and the horizon glows with a warmth you can almost feel through the frame. The silhouetted fronds frame the scene like a quiet curtain parting, inviting you to pause and witness something unhurried. It's the kind of morning that reminds you why the coast holds such a pull.

Ray had a way of capturing these fleeting transitions — the in-between moments when light reshapes the entire landscape.

Purchase this print:
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/sunrise-in-nags-head-3-ray-matthews.html

Browse many more photos from Ray at:
https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/3-ray-matthews

"Roanoke Island Marsh and Fog #3"Golden light pours through the cypress canopy, meeting the fog halfway across the stil...
04/27/2026

"Roanoke Island Marsh and Fog #3"

Golden light pours through the cypress canopy, meeting the fog halfway across the still marsh waters.

There's a quiet patience to a morning like this — the kind where the world seems held in place, suspended between night and day. The mist drifts slowly through the trees, softening every edge, every shadow, until the distant shoreline dissolves into something dreamlike. You don't so much see a scene like this as feel it settle around you.

Ray had a way of finding these unhurried moments along the Outer Banks and letting them speak for themselves.

Purchase this print:
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/roanoke-island-marsh-and-fog-3-ray-matthews.html

Browse many more photos from Ray at:
https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/3-ray-matthews

Shipwreck Under The Stars #2A weathered hull rests on the sand as the Milky Way unfolds above it in quiet ceremony.Ther...
04/20/2026

Shipwreck Under The Stars #2

A weathered hull rests on the sand as the Milky Way unfolds above it in quiet ceremony.

There's something about a shipwreck at night that shifts the sense of time altogether — the stars wheeling overhead, the soft glow along the horizon, and the old bones of a vessel slowly returning to the earth. It's a scene that feels both ancient and immediate, as if the sky is keeping watch over something it has always known. In the stillness, you can almost hear the tide breathing.

Ray had a way of finding these moments along the Outer Banks — where the landscape holds its own kind of memory, and the camera simply bears witness.

Print available at:
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/shipwreck-under-the-stars-2-ray-matthews.html

Browse many more photos from Ray at:
https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/3-ray-matthews

"Tulips #2"A burst of red and yellow tulips reaches toward a flawless blue sky, alive with color and light.There's a qu...
04/01/2026

"Tulips #2"

A burst of red and yellow tulips reaches toward a flawless blue sky, alive with color and light.

There's a quiet joy in this scene—the kind found in a garden at the height of spring, when every petal seems to hold the warmth of the sun. The blooms stand bold and unguarded, their colors almost luminous against the open sky. It's a moment that asks for nothing more than a pause and a long, unhurried look.

Ray was best known for his iconic coastal landscapes, but his eye for light and color brought the same sense of wonder to every subject he turned his lens toward.

This photo and hundreds more prints are available at:
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/tulips-2-ray-matthews.html

Swans Under the SunsetA golden sky parts for a flock of swans tracing their ancient path toward nightfall.There is a sti...
03/17/2026

Swans Under the Sunset

A golden sky parts for a flock of swans tracing their ancient path toward nightfall.

There is a stillness that settles over the coast in the final moments before dusk—when the air cools, the light deepens, and the world seems to hold its breath. Then, the quiet rush of wings. These swans move together as if drawn by the same invisible thread, their silhouettes sharp against a sky that burns with amber and gold. It is the kind of scene that stops you mid-step and asks you to simply witness.

Ray had a rare gift for being present in moments like these—patient enough to let the landscape reveal itself, and skilled enough to preserve it exactly as it felt.

This photo and hundreds more prints are available at:
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/swans-under-the-sunset-ray-matthews.html

Photo of the Week: "Tumult in Pastel"Now available for purchase at: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/tumult-in-pastel...
07/31/2024

Photo of the Week: "Tumult in Pastel"

Now available for purchase at: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/tumult-in-pastel-ray-matthews.html?product=framed-print

You can now purchase Ray's photos through his website, https://raymatthews.com via Fine Art America using the "Buy Print" button under each photo. If the photo has not yet been added to Fine Art America, the button will read "Request Print", allowing you to send us a request, and you'll be notified by email when we've added it!

Photo of the Week: "Wild Stallions Fighting"Now available for purchase at: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/wild-stal...
07/15/2024

Photo of the Week: "Wild Stallions Fighting"

Now available for purchase at: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/wild-stallions-fighting-ray-matthews.html?product=framed-print

You can now purchase Ray's photos through his website, https://raymatthews.com via Fine Art America using the "Buy Print" button under each photo. If the photo has not yet been added to Fine Art America, the button will read "Request Print", allowing you to send us a request, and you'll be notified by email when we've added it!

*** We had technical difficulties with the request button on the first day it was available. If you have requested a print and have not yet received an email. we never received the notification. Please re-submit your request and we will get it added as soon as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience! ***

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Nags Head, NC
27959

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+12524417941

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