Ryan Rowell
Owner, Creative Director & Photographer at Rowell Photography
When my past partner and I started Rowell Photography in the spring of 2004, it was just an idea that came up over a cheap chicken wing dinner one night, outside our local Zehrs supermarket. We had been working together for 6 months as photographers at the Zehrs Portraits Studio, photographing about 20 babies and families a day.
Over and over again the same topic kept on coming up; Wouldn’t it be great if we could pick and choose what we photographed? or who we photographed? We could go anywhere in the world. We could even work for National Geographic! (Well after a little more thought and much research we learned that hiding out in a jungle tree for weeks on end, catching malaria multiple time and facing death everyday was not exactly what we wanted.)
All I knew at that point was that I loved photography, people and travel. I also had a deep emotional connection with the concept that photographers tell and keep stories of life. That what photographers do, not only means something to their subjects and their clients, but also to the whole of humanity. Photographs really do change the world (be it the whole world or the worlds of individuals) and it was a world I wanted to be apart of, in a big way.
The photographs I create are a combination of real moments, fun relaxed couples and families, placed in front of stunning backdrops. I decided instead of creating a definable image or look with the content of my images, for example: Families formally posed around the fire place or bride on her wedding day with her dress fanned out and her bouquet lying on it (trust me this is a popular shot in my industry, or at least it was 6 years ago). I decided to make each couple and families photographic experience a unique one. I started asking them questions like, how did you meet? and what do you do as a family on the weekends? I wanted to get inside their heads so I could create images that reflected their lives. The best photos, for me, are the ones that tell who the people are without necessarily spelling it out. This method not only helped me connect with more people who loved my work, but it helped me connect with people who were just like myself. People who really believe in the power of photographs.