Ryan first picked up his dad’s 35mm Canon camera aged 10. His early reverence for this heavy, manual, object of mirrors and industrial design, was certainly more evident than his reverence for his dad’s supply of slide film!

In his early 20’s he snuck into a London university’s darkroom to print his first silver gelatin prints. This was followed by more honest dark room printing at various London libraries. In 2022, after a gap of nearly 20 years, Ryan processed in a Brisbane dark room an image or photogram of Hokusai’s famous wood carving print - The Great Wave off Kanagawa.  

The “gap” was spent studying a Masters in Cities & Urban Design (UK), working on affordable and restitution housing projects, a decade of corporate property development work in Australia, sculpture and community art courses. These days Ryan is behind the lens as a student of drawing with light (photography) – seeking out people, personalities, places and stories.