Spending his formative years in the high school darkroom, Ryan developed a love and an affinity for using a camera to tell stories.  After graduating from Columbia College: Chicago in 2011, he joined Chicago’s IATSE 476, and for nearly a decade worked all sides of the camera, primarily focusing on G&E, where he trained his eye in the art of lighting and composition for cinematic storytelling.

Ryan’s career as a DP began in low-budget short films and music videos, which led to travel documentaries and other shooting opportunities around the world, all while continuing to work union-level productions in between projects.  There he learned from some of the greatest DPs of our time what the role of a cinematographer can truly be and in 2019, Ryan’s goal of becoming a Cinematographer in ICG: Local 600 became a reality.  This achievement opened the door for him to begin shooting Episodic Television and Feature-length Films starting in 2020.

In 2022, Ryan’s work as Director of Photography on the 10-part mini-series, Bring on the Dancing Horses, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim.  Directed by Michael Polish and starring Kate Bosworth, the series followed a hit-woman determined to dispatch justice upon a group of eccentric criminals in rural Montana.  Ryan recently completed principal photography on a period-piece Western for Sony Pictures, titled Birthright: a film set in the American frontier of the 19th century.  The story takes place in 1890 and stars Lucas Black alongside Sarah Drew, who portray the struggles of a married couple who are in a desperate search for their kidnapped daughter in the outlawed American West.

Based in Los Angeles, California, Ryan spends his free time in the mountains, hiking and camping with his dog and sidekick, Ginger.  If they’re not in nature you’ll often find them riding two-up on his classic Triumph along the PCH with an old film camera, forever in pursuit of catching that perfect frame.  If you have a project you think he may be interested in, please feel free to reach out to talk about all things life and cinema over a good cup of coffee.  He prefers his coffee rich and black… just like his shadows.