For Ryan Muirhead his trip into the world of photography started with a friend asking a simple phrase during lunch, “Hey, take a cool picture of me.”
That simple request from a friend looking for a good photo, launched Muirhead into a love affair of the art of photography.
“Days later I bought my first camera,” Muirhead said of his first experience. “And a month later that was all I wanted to do.”
This moment happened in 2006 and since then Muirhead’s career in photography has taken off.
When he started shooting he came back to UVU and started school to study photography. But, in his own words, he struggles in a structured environment. Studying with Barb Frazier and Travis Lovell helped push him toward working with film.
“I think in my mind the plan is just to get famous enough so they just offer me an honorary degree, just kidding… sort of.”
He said he is less than a semester away from earning a degree.
He keeps a footprint at UVU at his “museum” which is Courtney Davis’s office. Muirhead said that she has six or seven pieces hanging up in her office.
“I’m grateful for the school,” Muirhead said. “A couple of the teachers… had a really impressive impact for getting me thinking.”
His work with a film camera got him sponsorships and endorsements with Kodak and Leica film where he has been featured prominently on their websites. When Kodak released new films last year they gave him some to work with and his prints were used in demos for their new film.
He has worked with the bands A.F.I. and Rancid shooting promotional shots. And he will be working in Los Angeles starting Jan. 12.
For anyone that wants to view his work there are a number of outlets. To view them in person they can either visit Taylor’s office, go to the Hive Gallery in Trolley Square or there is a film show at the SLC Photo Collective. For online views people can go to the Kodak and Leica Blog along with his website ryanmuirhead.com or his facebook page along with a Twitter and Tumblr page.
He shoots, “almost exclusively people,” and said his entire interest is shooting people.
While he knows this is what he wants to do with his life he doesn’t know exactly how he is going to do it. He said that he has found out a lot of what he doesn’t want to do. He’s tried fashion, travel and some journalism and doesn’t want to do anything that takes away the passion.
“I haven’t made a lot of money yet, but I haven’t tried very hard, I’m just so in love with shooting.”
By Kelly Cannon – Life Editor
