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zimmer + hoelck | st. louis musicians

shane zimmer. if you follow my blog, you've seen this man before. it's been too long since I've published anything, and in light of recent events in my life, I've been revisiting some of Patrick Hoelck's work. I was a fan of his work while I was in school.  he's known for his very dark, very moody images, and incredible color work. the expression on shane's face, the depth in his eyes, and the Hoelck treatment, tell the story of my life well right now. it's truly a dark time, and this image sums it up.

Ryan Walters  |  St. Louis Portrait + Commercial Photographer

if you're into it, check out Hoelck's site.

patrickhoelck.com

treadway monologues | vietnam

I wanted to shoot some video tests with a new light and the 5D Mark II, and Dave was happy to oblige my creative endeavors. He wrote a couple monologues for the shoot, and delivered them as the characters they were written for. Here, he riffs through a Vietnam script. Please note, the purpose of this video is to inspect visual elements, so Dave isn't in costume. We realize a Vietnam Veteran would probably have a very different appearance.

Thank you to all who served and fought for our freedom.

Ryan Walters  |  St. Louis Photographer + Cinematographer

drae

this is Drae.  He's a talented young man pursuing a career in stage acting.  Catch him at The Muny this summer!

Ryan Walters  |  St. Louis Portrait + Commercial Photographer

treadway

If you've followed my blog for awhile now, you've seen this man before. I had the pleasure of working with David on a video project recently and took the opportunity to shoot some new stills of him. The video project consisted of several monologues he wrote mostly for the purpose of testing lighting and audio settings in the studio. He performed several different characters throughout the evening, and these two images stood out to me. The first image was shot with my Nikon F5 on 35mm, and the second is a digital capture. Look for the monologues to be posted soon as well.
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tribute to irving

In October of last year, our industry lost one of it's best in Mr. Irving Penn.  This is a subtle, and humble tribute to him and his timeless work.  His portrait of Pablo Picasso was my inspiration for this image, and David Treadway was gracious enough to lend his time and talent to contribute to my effort.

Ryan Walters  |  St. Louis Portrait + Commercial Photographer

Click here to view the original.

smick | apple stl

For a couple years now, I've been interested in doing a project built around the Apple community in St. Louis.  For those of you who don't know, I work as a trainer with Apple during the day, and have met some of the most talented, interesting people there.  This is Cari Smick, a Creative at the Apple Store, West County.  She's the first to volunteer her time and allow me to photograph her, but I'm hoping there will be others soon.  The plan is to shoot as many of my co-workers as will let me, and self-publish a book when the body of work has grown to support it.  So to all my Apple peeps, let me know if you are willing to participate!  Feel free to contact me via email, through the blog (visit the "current projects" page found under "community" at the top), or via facebook.

ryan@rwvisuals.com

facebook.com/rwvisual

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brother

This image of my brother came about last week.  He came by to visit and I had recently purchased the Nikon F5 pictured earlier in the blog.  I loaded the only roll of film I happened to have, Fuji Superia 400 from at least 8 years ago, and shot him near a window.  We rushed out to the nearest Walgreens to have the film developed! They offered to scan the negatives to a disc, and I was happy to let them.  An hour later, I picked up the film.  I particularly like his stare in this image.  It reminds me of the old tintypes of early western settlers from history books.

Ryan Walters  |  St. Louis Portrait + Commercial Photographer

kindred spirits

Here is my humble attempt at the incredible black & whites Jerry Tovo is becoming increasingly famous for. Over the past couple years, he's become my mentor and a very good friend. We recently collaborated on a shoot together, and as photographers do, shot a few test images of each other while setting up our lighting. Of the four or five I snapped, I thought this one lent itself well to trying my hand at the technique he has long since perfected. One catchlight. See, I've been listening!

Ryan Walters  |  St. Louis Portrait + Commercial Photographer

Here's to kindred spirits and parallel universes.

Smatterings: Young Ryan and Parallel Universes

isaac

I recently had the pleasure of spending a Saturday at the zoo with this little guy, and face painting was among the highlights of the day! This image was shot outdoors with available light, but I rather like how it nearly looks studio lit. I placed Isaac in the shadow and let the sunlight blow out the sandy pave stones in the background. A little post work and instant white seamless!

Ryan Walters  |  St. Louis Portrait + Commercial Photographer

reflection

Today I found a lens I lost when I moved to the city a couple years ago! It's the notorious Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 D!! This lens has been making the top 10 list for best Nikon lenses ever made since it's release in 1986. It's thought to be one of, if not THE sharpest lens Nikon ever produced, and it's incredibly fast!

Ryan Walters  |  St. Louis Portrait + Commercial Photographer