Panama City is home to nearly million people and a plethora of high rise buildings. Panama being a new country to me, I had no idea what to expect. Interesting streets and welcoming people blanket this international hub. Central and South America provide ample opportunity to speak Spanish, and I enjoyed the challenge of making photographs in another language.
As I left the Polar Vortex behind I was amazed to see my home state locked in ice and snow. The first image is Sandy Hook National Park and the Bayshore Area. You can see everything from the Highlands and Raritan Bay, all the way to Coney Island. Centered in the second image is Asbury Park. Though bitter cold, the world looks beautiful from the sky, I love aerial photography.
Currently, I am in the belly of South America. Ok, well maybe more like the collar bone region if you want to get more specific. There are some waves on the way, and friendly people abound here. Keep an eye on my social channels to stay up to speed, full blog post once I return 🙂
With the advent of mobile technology and the explosion of surfing in the Northeast it was only a matter of time before the two converged. During a day of good waves, a quick scroll through my Instagram feed reveals a myriad of geotagged photos.
Recently, Watershot has brought me aboard as an ambassador. Wielding a decent social media following and instant upload capability irresponsibility, is a quick way to earn cold stares when rolling up to any wave. I’m psyched to have a new way to bring images to the world of surfing via iPhone. In fact, this little housing and fisheye combo is providing some much needed inspiration to my work. I’ve found myself swimming out with the Watershot Pro + iPhone5 combo on days when I would pass on shooting all together. It has brought more joy and reminded me that surf photography is so much fun, even on the not so epic days. I just caution you to use your housing wisely, no need for specific street names, geotags or landmarking in your photos.
As part of my ambassadorship, Watershot has offered a discount to my friends, of which I’m so very happy to share. When purchasing online type in the code “@RyanStruck” and receive 10% off your order. Feel free to Tweet me or give me a shout on Instagram, I’d love to see what you all are shooting 🙂
A day of Garden State reaffirmation. Waking early; the tide still plump with lunar gravity. Delivering gifts of yesterday’s storm and arriving with the morning. Each sandbar received. Tugging at wetsuits, boots, hoods and gloves and slipping into the sea. Some wielding boards, others just to see.
A ton of snow fell on Monmouth County over the weekend. The temperature dropped and the waves came up. Though it wasn’t the most ideal swell and wind direction, there’s always something to look at when the world is covered in snow.
En route to Jersey City I was stuck in traffic on 495 just before the Holland Tunnel. That little curve near the traffic lights on the border of Hoboken are littered with graffiti and arresting views of the City skyline. Heavy traffic provides plenty of opportunity for pan handlers to walk through the rows of stopped cars asking for change.
This was the third image I snapped through the passenger side window. The only camera on hand a 35mm loaded with slide film. The first photo being the man unaware of the camera, second image shows he’s processing what is going on and the 3rd, here, he’s personality shines through.
I was laughing so hard as soon as he flipped me the bird. The sticky stop and go traffic eased slightly. I lower the camera and inch forward keeping an eye on this guy, still cracked up from such a random moment shared between the car window with a total stranger. Giddy, I see him in my rear view bust out in a broad smile and chuckling to himself.
My favorite photo memory of 2013.
As I mentioned in the previous post about shooting food photography in Manhattan, I’d like to introduce a bit more of what I do when the surf isn’t up. I know my regular subscribers here are used to seeing surf photography, as that was the original purpose of starting The New Surf dot com. Since then my art has morphed into so much more than “surf shots.” Jersey doesn’t always have swell worth sharing and airfare to an exotic location doesn’t always include world class waves. I hope you can appreciate me sharing my personal work mixed in with what I’m shooting to pay the bills. Surf photographers can be one trick ponies; I would like to show that we’re not all that way. It may be a very important time in photography’s history to showcase your specialization or niche in the field, but I’m banking on my viewer’s interest in just plain old seeing. I’m living my life through the viewfinder and from the start I’ve wanted nothing more than to share the moments I’ve experienced. It’s time for me to get back to that.
So that being said, I would like to introduce some street photography. It’s often hard to share work that doesn’t feel complete or work that isn’t the best there is to see, anywhere. Or even quick snapshots like the images below. What I mean is that I grappled with the idea of showing this street stuff but have held back for so long because it’s not on par with the Lee Friedlander‘s, Bruce Davidson’s, the Vivian Maier’s or the Saul Leiter’s of the world. I’ve decided that it’s important to share my work, because images never seen are never felt. What you see below are digital photographs and they feel a certain way. I’m shooting some film also and those images feel more raw and a bit more off the cuff. I have a few projects in the works exclusively shot on Velvia and I’m excited to bring those frames to light when the time is right. For now I’d like to start with digital pixels, pretty scenes, pretty people and nice lighting in the vicinities of Madison Ave, Central Park and Penn Station. Because that’s a safe place to start 😉
Please enjoy, I hope you like what I’ll be sharing in the next few months.
Links: RyanStruck.com, @RyanStruck, Tumblr, Facebook, LinkdIn, Flickr, Google+
Ryan Struck Photography 