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June 18, 2010
Capturing an audience
Jason Ryant’s attention to detail crafts his photos.
JEANIE KEOGH
Turning a hobby into a professional career is not a shot in the dark for photographer Jason Ryant, whose long exposure to the medium will likely make him a focal point in the local market.
Ryant graduated earlier this month from the two-year Langara College digital photography program. Humbled by the experience, he admitted the program was good for him because it taught him, he said, things he wasn’t even aware that he didn’t know.
“They mean to break you down and start you back at square one, and teach you the very basics from the beginning. It was a welcome transition,” he said.
Ryant was given his first camera by his photographer father when he was 10 or 11, shortly before his father passed away.
“It was a Pentax Yashika model Spotmatica with a beautiful rainbow neck strap. I gleaned a lot from him, and I was quite young, but his enthusiasm for photography rubbed off on me quite a bit,” he said.
But times have changed since he first peered into a developing tray, waiting as the mesmerizing images appeared. Set apart from a generation who isn’t learning the craft on manual cameras using film, Ryant is sad for what is being lost as technology changes.
“Digital is a very excellent learning tool but it doesn’t offer any appreciation for the medium itself. The world is changing so much. You can take a picture on your phone and, two seconds later, it can be visible online around the world.
“People’s attention drops because of the instant gratification they get from electronic devices so, in a way, we should be concerned [that] the captured still image on film [is] not necessarily being renewed or being carried on in this generation,” Ryant said. Referring to an aspect of Langara’s program, Ryant said, he particularly appreciated having an opportunity to use large format cameras shooting black-and-white sheet film and developing stills by hand.
“This isn’t an image where you just get your friends together and just do a quick happy snap. This is something that you set up. That you took the time and the initiative to plan for one shot and hours later you may get something of an image,” he said.
His love of the art form deepened when he acquired a large technical base of information through selling cameras. “I’m a bit of a geek, so I was really interested in how [cameras] work and the market is constantly changing, so I was on top of that for a few years,” he said.
His signature as an artist is his eye for detail. He will spend hours fixing a shot to match his perfectionist standards. However, he is also learning the value of stepping back and letting go.
“Even when you try and control everything, something still surprises you and I’m constantly learning what I’m capable of,” he admitted.
Part of his next discovery is to find his niche in the Vancouver panorama of artists. At the moment, he is taking time to get a clear picture of where to set his professional sights. “In the past two years, I’ve shot so many ranges of categories – people, landscapes, fine art, product, still life – and I have an idea of what I enjoy doing but I don’t know what I want to pursue 100 percent yet,” he said. “There are a lot of photographers in the city. Too many for the work that is out there.”
For now, he is happy to explore different avenues and is working as a wedding photographer. Apart from this, Ryant enjoys the multi-faceted, one-on-one interaction of portraiture and illuminating the powerful emotional impact of landscape photographs.
Ryant’s eight-foot-by-three-foot shot of the Vancouver harbor, exhibited at Langara’s year-end showing, was an attempt to bring people to stillness.
“I wanted people to be drawn into this photograph and to stand there and immerse themselves in it, which they did,” he said.
The photograph will be on display in a coffee shop soon opening at 2525 Main St. (in the old Lugz Coffee Lounge space) in the coming month. With any luck, it will attract the requisite retinue of retinas to launch his career.
Jeanie Keogh is a Vancouver freelance writer.
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