about

When I reflect on the 25 years I have lived thus far, I think of life before photography, and life after photography. My view of the world is forever different in a most excellent way since I have started expressing my surroundings visually. The world around me is constantly changing, and with it, I react through photography. There are certain moments that are to be plucked while others are meant to be enjoyed and let pass. Whether you get to these instants on purpose or by chance, the moment captured is sure to leave an impression.


I have never felt a part of something so strongly that I have claimed my method or beliefs to be best. I shoot Canon, but have no beef with Nikon. I watch the Yankees play baseball, but really enjoyed watching Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield dominate the Yankee line up a few years back. I am of the mind set that life is a give and take and if you do not bend with the wind you will snap, leaving behind a brittle and jagged stump. All thoughts are up for debate and each should be considered carefully. There is beauty in absolutely everything; win, lose or draw.

I earned a BA in History while minoring in Archaeology from Monmouth University. I believe that thorough analysis of the past enables me to put a better foot forward when walking towards the future. My understanding of our cultural heritage has enhanced my own present day work. Applying visual documentation to my surroundings has become the greatest symbiotic relationship to my curiosity of the natural world (both past and present). Sometimes I may be documenting a single shoot photographicly but my aim is to preserve it's place in the future.

My short photographic career has led me astray and brought me home again many times. Taught me lessons about people, places and how the world keeps on keepin on. I've shot from the sweaty beaches in Mexico while 30 foot tall waves battered the sandbar 100 feet from where I stood. I marveled at the deep blue coral rich waters in the Mentawai Islands off of the coast of Indonesia. Had a smoke with a Costan Rican man who hand rolled my friend and I cigars before our very eyes. Laughed to tears while talking shit with dear friends. Some of my favorite experiences of them all have been while neck deep and wetsuit clad in the chilly 35 degree waters of the Western Atlantic Ocean, camera in hand. Home is relative, but nothing beats the feeling.

I believe I have so much more to learn and want to experience every corner of the world. There's a telling story under each nook and cranny.

My approach to photography is akin to a fly on the wall... minus the kaleidoscope vision. I enjoy living in the moment and naturally sync with my surroundings. I live for the immersion of myself into my current setting. This state can last an hour during a portrait session, or as long as two weeks during a surf trip abroad. Photography allows me to become anyone I want while still being me. Market and package it as photojournalism, action or candid; I just shoot it how I see it. ;)

all images © Ryan Struck 2011.