Ryan's Bio

I've always been interested in capturing the world in new and exciting ways. Photography has always been an amazing way to take a rather boring landscape (Central Indiana) and make it beautiful. My early work includes rustic barns and dilapidated fences, themes that still find their way into my photography to this day. I've spent hundreds of hours driving around Indiana photographing everything that comes my way. Of the thousand or so rolls of film I've developed I've created some very unique works of art, and each time I see something that moves me, I wonder how I can make it better. I go back out and try again, trying a new lens, or changing a setting in my camera. This trial and error has been my best teacher.

Throughout my non-photographic career I've always found a way to be a photographer. While working for a small software company I photographed several yearly seminars learning a lot about flash photography along the way. While serving in the US Army Reserve I was my company's offical photographer. I documented every aspect of our training and published a monthly newsletter.

Like so many landscape photographers before me, my portraiture work started when I was asked to photograph a relative's wedding even though I had no idea what I was doing. The wedding went very smoothly, and I realized how difficult people photography was. The challenge of making artistic portraits that people love is what drives me every day. Since that first wedding I've gone completely digital and have invested countless hours (and dollars) to my studio. Instead of driving around looking for interesting trees to photograph I practice my studio lighting techinque on mundane objects like sea shells or colored pencils. Every day I learn something new and every portrait I take is a little bit better than the last.