Nolltvå » Ryan

Inspiration

Ryan — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:31:23 +0000

During an interview I was asked what photographers have inspired me. At once one photographer came directly to mind. At a young age before I even picked up a camera I came across some images at a gallery that were so strong and said so much I will always have them with me. The photographer was Dorothea Lange. Her photos taken during the great depression in the U.S. had so much felling I fell in love not only with her work but the concept of photography in whole. I quickly realized It was not just her subjects that made her photos interesting but also the way she captured them. Everything from the composition to the information in her gray tones to the angels she shoot at. After that experience my eyes opened to so many other photographers and styles. While speaking to a group of photographers I said we all have these experiences with photos that have just jumped out and spoken to us. And most likely this is the reason we picked up a camera in the first place. So my challenge to them and to all is that we try to come to this level that our photos speak their own language and become more then a photo but a source of inspiration. Would be cool to hear some of the photographers who have inspired you. Please share.

Ryan/ http://ryangarrison.com

Photos by Dorothea Lang

The men of MORE MORE MORE

Ryan — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:37:52 +0000

So it’s very often that I am shooting women in my shoots so I think it is extra fun when I am able to shoot with some male models and shooting the More More More t-shirts we have had in a few hunks so I present to you the men of More More More!

All the photos are taken with 1 light with a beauty dish as the lighting tool.

/Ryan www.ryangarrison.com

Snow

Ryan — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:07:34 +0000

With all the snow we have been having I just thought I would share a photo I took this winter. Have a good weekend and enjoy the snow while it last!

Ryan www.ryangarrison.com

Is film dead?

Ryan — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:28:28 +0000

Today when out I rarely ever see anyone photographing with film. In most cases we take a large amount of our photos in our mobiles sacrificing quality for convenience although the quality of the images in mobile photos is getting better and better every day. I myself photograph much of my personal day to day moments on my phone. And nearly all the rest of my work is done in digital cameras or at least in to a digital back. But to be honest a big part of me has really missed the purity and honesty of photographing analog. It is a felling in film that I just love. So during one of my last shoots when we were all done I just wanted to take one portrait using some 400 iso slide film after the shoot it was then processed at regular c-41, giving a very interesting tone. Although much more time consuming I think it’s just something so pure so real about a negative. I have a feeling that my analog cameras are not going to be fully at rest this year and I’ll be spending a bit of cash on rolls of film For those of you who have never worked with film before I highly recommend it. This is a great way to learn how to photograph and be careful getting it right. Really having to meter the light and thinking about your composition since you can’t just hit the delete button and you only have so many frames per roll. For those that want to get a systems camera but don’t have the cash, getting a analog camera is a great way to go. Just last week I bought a camera i found on blocket for 400 sek :- of course you will have to buy film but you could shoot quite a bit before you will come up to the cost of a digital systems camera and by then you will be a photographic ninja (if you shoot in manual that is).

Model: Kornelia

Makeup artist: Therese

/Ryan www.ryangarrison.com

Happy Birthday Photoshop

Ryan — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 07:29:51 +0000

So it has been 20 years now since we saw the first version of Photoshop and it is safe to say that the picture world has not been the same since. Every day we open magazines, newspapers or walk by billboards and movie posters that’s images have at one stage run through this ever so powerful program.

I remember back when I was going to high school in the 90’s and first saw this program. I knew from the get go that this was the future of photography and here we are today and without a doubt it is.

Photography’s most key ingredient is still the camera and the image captured in it but the importents of postproduction in Photoshop cannot be denied with the standards set thanks to Photoshop (for good and bad). I hope however we can hold on to the roots and feeling of a photographer with a camera and not let the photo manipulation completely take over but instead let Photoshop be used as a tool to give that final touch and enhance the feeling already in the photo. I’m very exited to see what the world of photography has in store 20 years from now and I have a feeling Photoshop is a program here to stay and will still be working side by side then. So hats off to the developers and Happy Birthday!

Rock n roll in black and white

Ryan — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:35:08 +0000

So now that Peace and Love are announcing lots of great bands for this year’s lineup I’m already getting very excited for the next festival. Last year I had a great time with some good friends listening to some great music and of course part of the fun was photographing some of the bands. Here are a few of the photos I was able to take of ”Bring me the horizon” while they had their adrenalin filled show. All that was needed for this shoot was a wide angel zoom lens and a few chugs of redbull and then I was ready to rock. And an easy pick for rock photos for me is black and white. Something about rock just goes down nice in gray tones.

Can’t wait for this year’s party! / Ryan http://ryangarrison.com

Turn it off

Ryan — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 08:21:24 +0000

Lights up, cables drawn, soft boxes set up, light metered but wait the light coming in from the window is awesome. Turn off the lights, take of the radio sync, just shoot with the light mother nature has provided. This is a situation I can often find myself in and I love it. In the last entry I wrote about using lights when the sun is not cooperating and that can come in very handy. Going out on a shoot one must be prepared as best you can but you have to also be prepared not to use all the equipment. This can be very hard for some photographers. Of course it’s understandable when you spend a shit load of money on this equipment of course you want to use it. But I believe in many situations we can get a much better photo if we just work the available light. And this is why I say to those photographing for the fun of it, not to rush in to buying a bunch of equipment when you can do so much with so little.

Model: Katharine
Makeup and hair: Marika Särnfält
Brazier by Chantelle that can be purchased at ”My Lady” located in leksand

/ Ryan http://ryangarrison.com

Shooting the CURB

Ryan — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:11:06 +0000

It’s wonderful when we can pick the days we can shoot according to the weather but when you have a job booked for a certain day you have to just be able to do what you can with what you got. Taking pictures on the slopes is so nice when you have a sunny day with puffy clouds. Unfortunately the day I was shooting the owner and some of the staff of CURB it was not one of those days (go figure). So I needed to have another approach to this shoot.

A dark and overcast day normally means high ISOs and slow shutter speeds. But with a little help from our friend (elinchrom rangers RX speed AS) we can at least bump the ISO back down to 100 and although our shutter speed is not over 1/200s (this is because most cameras will not be able to sync much fast then that when using non ttl flash) the burn time of the light is 1/5200s (now that’s fast) To be able to achieve this amount of speed with the elinchrom RX speed AS you must also have a ”A head” (flash head) and then you need to have it plugged in to the B output and then crank it to full effect. You will not be able to maximize the full power of the pack using the B output but you will be able to maximize the speed.

Now it’s a few more things you need to take in to consideration when shooting like this and the first is the ambient light that will obviously effect the results as well. Although your flash is bursting at 1/5200s the ambient light is consistent. So think about how that will affect your image and take that in mind when setting up. Also check your settings for sync on your camera. You can have the shutter go off either before or after depending on where you want the motion blur. In most cases you would want it behind the moving object so in that case you want your flash going off at the end of your exposure freezing the final movement of the shutter speed time.

I just want to point out here the importance of knowing your equipment. I don’t at all say we need to put all our focus on the technical parts of photography but I must say knowing your equipment can save your ass in a hard situation.

/ Ryan www.ryangarrison.com

Think small to think BIG

Ryan — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:13:14 +0000

It is very easy to think the grass is greener on the other side. And the same goes with photography. Its often I find myself thinking of the photos I could take if I was in Asia or southern Europe but I strongly believe we have so much around us that could make for amazing photos. We just need to open our minds to the possibilities. One things I often remind myself over and over again is to think small to think big. And by saying that I mean take a look through your viewfinder. Even in a boring area you can find a very cool photo when composed. Often small things can within a larger less exiting subject be very interesting. So open your mind by narrowing your vision

Ryan www.ryangarrison.com

The applicant

Ryan — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:01:53 +0000

With the type of photography I do I get a number of people writing to me wanting to test their wings modeling. A number of them are interested in appearing in Nolltvå, and that is always fun. As time permits I like to test them out before I take them out on a job. Yesterday afternoon I was able to test out Petronella. It took a little while for her and I to warm up (even I can need a little time to warm up, especially if it’s a person I have never worked with before). But once we got going Petronella was able to relax and give some real feeling to her poses. This is one of the key parts to standing in front of the camera. No matter how good one might look you must put some feeling in to it. In this photo I just love the attitude not only in the face but even the fingers are showing. Good job Petronella!

The ever so lovely Therese was kind enough to do a quick makeup for this test shoot.