About

Vancouver-based photographer Ryan West can often be found where he loves to be – behind the camera. “People often ask how I got my start in photography,” says Ryan. “I remember being a young kid and sneaking looks in my parent’s books – one of them being Salvador Dali, who left quite an impression. In junior high my parents bought me a film point and shoot camera. From there I fell in love with taking photos.” Possessed with a photographer’s skilled eye and an artist’s vision, Ryan has managed to turn his artistic passion into a profession that specializes in commercial, editorial, music, and conceptual based imagery.

Upon graduating with a business degree from Simon Fraser University, Ryan got his start in the entertainment industry, gaining steady success as both a music producer and radio DJ. In 2002, Ryan was nominated for Best Radio Personality by the Urban Music Association of Canada and served as an urban music judge for the Junos. The experience and success Ryan achieved in the music industry has since proven useful in his photographic endeavours. “I have an equal passion for creating imagery. In fact, I am the most fulfilled when I am creating, whether photos or music.” When he’s not busy producing remixes for such artists as Jesse McCartney or Pitbull, the dual Canadian-US citizen can be found photographing top entertainers including Russell Peters, Foster the People, Fefe Dobson and Dev.

Ryan continues to work in the music industry, having licensed over 100 of his songs for film and TV on shows like MTV’s “The Real World” , Oxygen Channel’s “The Bad Girl’s Club”, and E! Networks Daily 10. Ultimately, Ryan’s true passion lies in a love for photography that has stayed with him since childhood. “When I was in junior-high and high-school my friends and I would often experiment with our film cameras by taking double exposures, using colored transparencies to shoot through, and even shooting through a kaleidoscope…. I guess we just liked to be creative, try-out new ideas, and most of all have fun.”

The early experiments: