Tam Ryan

My photo
Nature and Wildlife Photographer Published in Arizona Highways Magazine, Arizona Desert Views Magazine's Calendar and Nature Conservancy among other publications. Tam Ryan has lived in the Southwestern United States for over forty years. Her interests center on the region's unique attributes, especially its vast landscapes and bird wildlife. Tam Ryan's other interests include abstracts in nature, architecture, desert flora, and cacti.

Sunday, June 15, 2014

My Journey as a Photographer

Great Egrets
Cover photo - Arizona Highways Magazine's Facebook Page
January 2014


This is a Father's Day tribute to both of my fathers (and my mother, of course) who have been very influential in helping me develop my interest in photography. It has been the passion of my life to learn and pursue the next image that inspires me.

Looking back at the way I became interested in photography has made me realize how lucky I have been to have had two father's who were influential in my upbringing. At age ten, I received my first point and shoot film camera in 1960 from my father, Dave Ryan. I took some pictures with it while visiting Rome, Italy for a 6 month stay with my step-father, John Huggler, a composer and jazz musician, who had received his first Guggenheim Grant. The next camera was another point and shoot until I graduated in 1968 from Lexington High School in Lexington, Massachusetts.

My father, Dave, was the first to recognize the value of photography, having taken darkroom instruction from the prominent photo-journalist of that time, W. Eugene Smith in New York City. After my father, Dave, moved to Japan, he sent me my first good 35 mm camera, the Asahi Pentax. It didn't have a light meter, so I purchased one and started on my journey by learning the basics of setting f. stops and shutter speed according to the light meter's recommendations. From those beginnings, I then had several cameras. I had a Chinon, a Canon A-1 and then the Nikon 8008s film cameras and a Bronica GS-1 medium format camera. In 2006, I got my first digital camera. Just last year, I traded John's old Nikon camera system for a Nikon D300.

My father, John, became interested in photography, as well. He had the opportunity to meet Ansel Adams during one of our summer vacations driving through California. My mother, Mardean and my father, John, were both very supportive of me pursuing photography.

When I moved to Lake Havasu City, Arizona in 1977, I became more involved with photography by contributing to the local newspaper and was published in local magazine publications. Then, I took a darkroom developing and printing class at the community college. The class led to a job working for the local newspaper.

In 1997, I moved to Mesa, Arizona where I have become very active with photography Meetup groups. I am out as often as possible taking pictures of the subjects that interest me most. I enjoy landscapes, desert flora, birds, abstracts in nature and abstracts in architecture. Please visit my website to see the variety of images that are for sale. The links are: 

http://www.tamryan.artistwebsites.com 

http://www.tamryan.com


No comments:

Post a Comment

PUBLISHED in Arizona Game and Fish Calendar 2024

My photo of two juvenile Black-necked Stilts was pubished in the 2024 Arizona Game and Fish Calendar. The image won an Honorable Mention an...