Six months in the (enviable) life of photographer Ryan Lowry

Date
9 August 2017

Ryan Lowry is rarely not on our radar. The photographer may have found fame documenting Chicago’s punk shows and the city’s skate scene, but these days, he’s known for knocking out a steady stream of Vitamin D-soaked editorials for Apartamento, Playboy, The Fadar, Rolling Stone, The Chicago Reader, Dazed & Confused, Icon, GQ, Complex and Riposte depicting places we’d rather be and people we wished we looked like.

There’s no denying the hard work behind Ryan’s filled-to-bursting portfolio of sun-drenched images. Ryan’s work has won him an armful of achievements and awards, not least the Albert P. Weisman Award. In 2016 he was named one of 30 “New and Emerging Photographers to Watch” by PDN and his self-published photo book Two Years earned him a place in the Top Ten Photo Books of 2014 in the British Journal of Photography by Bruno Ceschel.

Now seemed as good a time as any to get hold of the photographer and find out how he has been whiling away the hours. After a few emails back and forth, Ryan agreed to show — but not tell — us what he’s been up to.

“The images come from all over the place,” Ryan tells It’s Nice That of the images below. “California, Chicago, New York, Europe – kind of a glimpse of what my life has been for the past six to eight months. My work has always been autobiographical in one way or another, so the way they are weaved is kind of about the rhythm – how they talk to one another, and how the viewer’s own personal narrative gets weaved in. I believe telling the viewer what to take away from my images ruins what photography is for me.”

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Above

Ryan Lowry

Share Article

Further Info

About the Author

Bryony Stone

Bryony joined It's Nice That as Deputy Editor in August 2016, following roles at Mother, Secret Cinema, LAW, Rollacoaster and Wonderland. She later became Acting Editor at It's Nice That, before leaving in late 2018.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.