We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ryan Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ryan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?
Ann Coen is up there on my list of hero’s. She has taught me photography, business, insane work ethic and also most importantly life lessons. She has taught me when shit hits the fan that i can deal with it and get through it no matter what happens. She’s a real one for sure.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
as a kid i would always be filming movies and skate videos with my friends. i was always being creative with cameras, skating, drawing or trying to play music. i always knew deep down i wasn’t going to work a regular job or have a normal life. i always wanted to do something that would make me happy and always be fun. during my years of high school there was a local photographer a year older than me who would shoot all different things and i always thought it was amazing. once i graduated high school i picked the camera up again and started shooting surfing and once that happen i didn’t put the camera down. i think the funny thing with me is i live multiple lives. one night i could be shooting a wedding, the next day i could be shooting tattoo photos and the third day i could be shooting bands like blink 182. i always liked being in those different worlds and not being stuck to one thing. im most proud of that i can go to work with my friends and have a great time and im able to make a living with a camera because i was a kid graduating high school without a plan.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
There wasn’t anything I necessarily had to unlearn but to accept and that was working outside of my comfort zone which was a lesson of itself, At first, I was stuck in my shell and nervous to do things and would stay in my bubble. I knew I wanted to get better at what I chose as my career and had to face the reality of doing things I was not used to doing. When I made the initial move to stray outside of weddings, I knew there was much more reaching out to do and little by little I grew more comfortable with people in all types of settings which got me to where I am with events that involve music, skateboarding, etc.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Back in May of 2017, I got hit by a truck while riding my motorcycle. After months of healing, I was able to use crutches and feel normal enough to try to get back into the swing of things. I am glad I challenged myself because even though I was still injured, I was able to shoot AFI and came home with some of my favorite images.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ryanjohnsonphotos.com
- Instagram: ryanjohnson_1
