Ryan looking cozy in some frigid water… Thank you 5/4mm wetsuit!
Name
Ryan Struck
Age
26
Hometown
Red Bank, NJ
School
Monmouth University- BA History with a minor in Archaeology.
Equipment
My favorite photo gear is constantly changing for my personal work. Sometimes I will go a week with the same lens attached to my camera and then other days I will wind up switching lenses 4 different times. Lately I have been in love with wide angles. I haven’t picked up my 400mm in probably 6 months…
How did you get started with photography?
I pretty much just had an interest in great looking scenes. I used to watch Nature on channel 13 (PBS) when I was a kid and I think that led to my love for National Geographic Magazine. It finally came together recently; it’s hard to pinpoint a specific moment, but photography is where it’s at!
Best trip
Each one gets better and that’s not to say the ones before it were not up to snuff. Every time I travel it always feels like that’s the best trip of my life. What’s the best trip? The next one!
Favorite athlete to work with?
When he’s not traveling, I usually try and meet up with my friend and local shredder PJ Raia. Also, big shout to the B TEAM.
What are your top five favorite pics- tell us a little back ground on them: Who, What, When, Where, Why kind of deal.
It’s funny to look through previous shoots after a few months have passed because often my taste has changed or enough time has passed that I can actually look at my work objectively. When you are shooting and then culling shortly after that either due to deadline constraints or because you just want to see what you ended up with, it’s very easy to miss good photos. Often I have an idea in my head even before I arrive to the beach and I aim to capture that visual image. The way I look at it is: if I walk away with one keeper image, one image I am happy with on the day of the shoot, than I am stoked. That’s all I want, one photo. So a lot of times I am after that one image I can imagine, but still in the process of documenting what I see from the day’s events. Those "extra" photos that have been recorded get thrown on the hard drive and sometimes see the light of day when revisited. I would say the majority of what I have I haven’t even really seen. So here’s to shedding some light on a few….
This is my friend Bryan Zinski scoring a picturesque snow day here in New Jersey. Lefts are not all that common, but it doesn’t get much better than surfing with only two of your buds.
This is Jason Pollak surfing HT’s in the Mentawai Islands in Indonesia, June 2010. If you have ever been here or seen photos in the mags then you know that this wave is so beautiful and colorful. It was like nothing I have ever seen, however, I chose black and white because it’s amazing how you can’t tell where the white water ends and the clouds begin.
I’ve only been to Costa Rica once and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back in a heartbeat. This was one of those experiences on a surf trip that I’ll never forget. I barely understand Spanish and this man spoke no English. In his cigar shop, I got an education on cigars, hand rolling them, and even the different stages of the tobacco plant. From seed to smoke.
This is PJ Raia doing his thing inside a Pacific Ocean bubble.
Shay O’Brien is a great goofy footer and as you can see he is cruising on the foam ball with ease. It’s this kind of photo that really does it for me. Shot at dawn, like the crack, and the morning light shines on the Pacific just can’t be matched. A fireball sunrise is truly something great to see from the water and it casts perfect lighting on the face of the wave for a short while, if you wake up early enough. I have never shot such a uniquely shaped and lit wave since.
Local Hero
Since we’re talking about surf here, I will keep it to a specific surf photographer.
New Jersey’s Rich McMullin. I met Rich’s reputation before I ever actually met him and I was familiar with his work even before that. New Jersey has bred or at least housed some of the best and well known surf photographers in the world. John Bilderback, Richard Meseroll, Jason Murray, Nick LaVecchia, Seth Stafford and Ryan Miller just to name a few. Rich’s work has always stood out for me because when I started paying attention to surf photography and shooting it for myself, Rich was working on Dark Fall, a New Jersey surf film. I would see Rich shooting stills alongside video of New Jersey’s finest talent. It was exciting when features went up online or in magazines because I could then see Rich’s photography. I can remember being at certain places myself when looking at his work from the past swell event. I would analyze how I thought he was using his camera and get ideas for how I would try using mine on the next swell. The use of foreshortening that I have seen in Rich’s images has made me want to go out and try certain angles. His work speaks for itself and he has never hesitated in offering advice when I’ve asked. Thanks for the inspiration, Rich!
Credit due
Adam Holloway. Adam has always hooked me up with riders and has done a tremendous amount for New Jersey surfing. I’ve got nothing, but thank yous for the guy.
Kyo Morishima http://www.kyomorishima.com/ for hiring me as an assistant and 2nd shooter, showing me that photography is fun, and using lights are not that daunting of a task. Wedding photography keeps you sharp and helps one learn faster than any other method I can think of.
Titan Outdoor for keeping me employed full time as a photographer.
Friends and Family!
Tell us about your secret other life
In my other secret life I lurk train stations, street corners and bus stops shooting photos of print and digital media while trying to dodge ornery commuters. No really.
Tell us about your favorite local shop
Barewires, Long Branch. RIP.
How can someone find you on the web or order a print?
Email ryan@ryanstruck.com and find my photography page on Facebook: http://facebook.com/RyanStruckPhotography
Email ryan@ryanstruck.com and find my photography page on Facebook: http://facebook.com/RyanStruckPhotography
Love the pictures. I’ve never surfed before but I always wanted to. The area I live in has nothing close to the opportunity is frustrating. Hopefully soon though
- Helen