Hi…
I’m Ryan, the owner of ryannigelphotography.com. I am a traveler, adventurer and explorer. I am not in the business to shoot the ‘best’ photos. What is the ‘best’ photo anyway ? For one its this for the other its that. It’s all about personal taste.
SOCIAL MEDIA
I think i’m one of the very few photographers without social media. It is all bullshit anyway and really time consuming.
BACKGROUND
Travel and Landscape Photography is my favorite waste of time. 🙂 Street Photography is my second favorite waste of time.
I have a personal preference for highly saturated vibrant photos with loads of contrast, though Black and White is also one of my favorite styles.
I do a lot in post processing. I like to use Photoshop, Lightroom, C-One. I use filters (ND, VariND and CPL) and some digital tools like Aurora, Photomatix HDR, NIK Collection, EZ Panel and TOPAZ Labs.
I shoot only with natural light, I don’t use flash.
I love detailing in post processing.
I don’t like pixel peepers, gear heads, self proclaimed photo pro’s and brand fan boys. That means: ‘when you have an expensive camera doesn’t mean you are a good photographer’.
To me: Travel Photography brings it all together. Portrait, Landscape, Food, People, Street, Black and White. ‘Travel’ is a small word but, for me, it got a big meaning. It is not only the photography it is also the culture, landscape, habits, social issues, of people and places. You see it all, you experience it, live it, feel it.
MY GEAR
At the moment I use Fujifilm X mirrorless cameras and lenses. Why ? For me, the cameras are comfortable, they are light and small, easy to use and lots of direct manual controls. The image quality is very good and the RAW files are very flexible. Fuji service is great. Their gear and vision is worth investing in. I prefer small and light cameras over the big ones. Why ? One day i was at a location, 35 degrees Celcius, humidity 90%, full sun and there i stood with my full gear. Not able to move anymore. 2 Canon DSLR’s (5D mk2 and 3), 6 L-series lenses 16-35, 24-70, 70-200 (all F2.8) and some primes. Tripod, batteries, remote, etc. It was just a complete backpack full. And it was to heavy and to much. Fujifilm was the solution. I started with the X-T1 and later the X-M1. The latter got the same processor and sensor, so basically the same camera as the X-T1, but so small ! Also the lenses are great, small and light. The X-M1 became my camera of choice. Later i moved up the ranks to the X-T2, X-T20 and X-T30. But the X-M1 was still the one which i grabbed first. Combined with the 10-24mm and the 16-80mm you got a great light travel set.
Read my article Starting as a travel photographer
I did/do also underwater photography. That is a whole different ballgame ! You think equipment ? Yes… underwaterhousings, strobes, flashes, domes, arms, lensports, O-rings and so much more. Post-processing ? Completely different. Read my article 50/50 Photos Underwater.
For editing I use a self-build PC with AMD CPU, NIVIDIA Graphics Card with a BenQ Photovue color corrected 27″ monitor. For travel i use a Dell XPS15 4K. Editing tools: I use Lightroom, Photoshop, C-One, NIK, TOPAZ, Skylum. Storage: Seagate and WD external hard drives and Samsung SSD’s. My cameras use SD cards, for me, Samsung SD cards (U3 Class 10) are very good and reliable.
CONTACT
Please contact me by email: ryan@ryannigelphotography.com