Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Allen.
Hi Ryan, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Born in Valdosta, Georgia, in 1986, I found my way to Charlotte, NC by way of culinary arts and the help of my homemake teacher, Mrs. Beasley, after spending 20 years learning to be creative in the restaurant industry by seasonal cooking and building a relationship with local farmers and their seasonal ingredients. COVID was the turning point in my creative expression. After many nudges from friends to buy a camera after sharing the photos I took during lockdown while riding my bike in Charlotte. I bought my first digital camera in 2021; photography started and always will be my therapy sessions, teaching me to put my emotions somewhere other than the empty bottles I was leaving at the bar. Self-taught, my practice is capturing inaction in action; my camera teaches me to stay present to find the little moments that truly make this world so special.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I always like to tell people dreams are just sacrifices, you gotta give something up to chase them. So it hasn’t always been smooth, yet it’s always been worth it. A lot comes with deciding to change the way you move in life, both personally and career-wise. One decrease in social time with friends, due to long work hours and hyperfixation on a new craft to become good at it. Second its not easy messing around to find out; doing new things solo without a blueprint can create some serious imposter thoughts. Third, finances: walking away from a comfortable career to have the time to pour yourself into something new really helps with breaking out a magnifying glass to see what’s truly important; your weekend budget turns into an art supply budget
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Digital photography, with a black-and-white editing style. I tend to lean more toward street photography due to living in an urban setting, yet my photography is mostly just a journal of things that keep me present; inaction in action. Even though I’m using a digital camera, I never look at the photos I take until I’m home on my computer. This practice helps me stay present in how I’m currently feeling and able to see the next fleeting moment. My background in culinary arts has led me to a hyperfocus on documenting America’s relationship with food on a street level. Leading me to create a body of work I call American Gastronomy, showing America’s global cultural influences on food here.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I’m not big on what ifs in life, so I have taken risk a few time, if your not failing your not learning as well. The most major was changing of careers after building one for 20 years. As scared of a though that was not knowing what if photography work out was more scary to think about for a life time than jumping of into the deep head first.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://friedchickensandwich.myportfolio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friedchickensandwich
- Twitter: https://x.com/FriedcknRy
