Interview
Ryan Crane
Ryan Crane is an artist, designer, accomplished photographer, and most recently, a cancer survivor. While working on his recovery and getting back to taking care of his family and celebrating completing his nearly 4-year cancer adventure, Ryan has launched RyanCranePhotography.com where you can enjoy his art pieces, as well as the home decor focused blog, if that is something you are into.
His education is in business administration.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“The photographer who inspired me to pick up a camera, known as Scott Frederick, was shooting run down, paint peeling off the wall Urbex, or urban environments using HDR techniques. His work was absolutely gorgeous. So I picked up a camera and since my family and I couldn’t afford to travel, I started to look around for anything to photograph. It all came to life for me when I realized just how much I was missing of what was going on around me every day — as simple as paying attention to the sunrise as I drove to work.”
What does your work aim to say? Does it comment on any current social or political issues?
“There was beauty all around me, and I had been missing it up until then. From that point on, it has been one of my goals to show people what they have also been missing.”
Which current art world trends are you following?
“Oddly enough, I’m not one to follow trends. When I first picked up a camera, we were just getting into high dynamic range photography. After I saw the work that Scott Frederick had been doing, I immediately jumped on that bandwagon. Lately, though, I haven’t had the time to see what is trending. I’m either learning website stuff like SEO behind the scenes, going to doctor appointments, car stuff, or practicing taking pictures.
My biggest challenge has been using my camera because of the nerve damage that was gifted to me during my cancer adventure.”
Do you plan your work in advance, or is it improvisation?
“For the most part, I wing it. There are times I’m chasing an idea — maybe I want to create an opposing shot to my No Bikes piece, which is of the sun setting over the bay in New Jersey. So I decide I’d like to capture the sunrise over the ocean. That is about as far as I plan, most of the time. I would sometimes waste a lot of time driving aimlessly when I had no idea what I wanted to capture. At least, I used to pre-cancer. For the record, I hope to get back to that point, just minus the aimless, wasted time part.”
What process, materials, techniques, etc., do you use to create your artwork?
“Right now, I shoot with Nikon. My main body is a d610 with a tamron 70-200mm f2.8 lens. Since camera gear is pretty expensive I decided that instead of buying the wide angle lens, I would keep my crop body, a Nikon d7100, and the Nikor 17-50mm f2.8.
After I capture the shots I want, I open them in camera raw, ready to make any adjustments. I make sure I’m happy with the exposure and that any buildings are vertical, (as long as it isn’t the Leaning Tower of Pisa, of course!) After I’m happy with the image, I open it in Photoshop, where I sometimes add some magic and ultimately finalize it in Photoshop.”
“I try to bring people joy using my art as a tool. Once I successfully point out what they have been missing through my pieces of art, they themselves start paying attention to the beautiful things around their lives, which ultimately brings them a bit of happiness.”
What does your art mean to you?
“What does my art mean to me? Life, or to live. Very often we forget just how beautiful life is, and how beautiful the world around us is. We all know there are beautiful places around the planet. Of course, I would love to travel and see them, but the world we each live in 7 days a week is also very beautiful. For many of us, it’s a matter of paying attention. In some places you have to search a little to find it, but it’s there.”
What is your favorite artwork and why?
“One of the problems I have is that I don’t focus on one photography niche. This makes it difficult to choose a single favorite piece. A Magical Night, Purrfection, Greeley Square… each artwork holds a special place in my eyes. However, if I must choose, it’s a toss up between Dan is Rad and Turn’n’Burn, both of which can be seen below. These photos are of Rad Dan and Adam LZ respectively, each on track as they get in their practice laps during Formula Drift at Raceway Park, Englishtown, New Jersey. The reason these are my favorite is less about their topic, and more about how well I took each photo. As I alluded to earlier, I have nerve damage, mostly in my hands and feet, which has made operating my equipment frustratingly difficult because I now lack the sense of touch.
These two photos are of race cars moving at upwards of 60mph. In order to capture them and show their speed, you need to have your camera settings correct, of course. But also, you need to be very steady. A photo like each of these is shot with an extended shutter speed while panning, so any movement will translate to the image. Both of these shots are as sharp as a tack. The reason I chose these is because they prove I can still do it.”
