Ryan Formosa - Exploring Photography
LAND & SEA FOLK
RYAN FORMOSA
TELL US ABOUT WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO GET INTO PHOTOGRAPHY & WHAT YOU WERE DOING AT THE TIME
Photography came about for me back in 2015. I was in year 10 at school and honestly had no idea where I wanted to go in life or what I wanted to do.
I was in a bad frame of mind at the time. Following a spate of injuries that prevented me from playing as much sport as I’d hoped to, I hated school and felt lost. I needed to find something, a hobby, that I could do on my own and that's where photography happened to appear.
Mum has always been what I like to call "Happy Snapper", someone who has their camera on auto and has no idea about what they are doing, but just loves taking photos and capturing moments. I started taking her camera and taking photos for myself and got curious about what certain settings did and how that then affected the final image. It was at that point in time where my interest truly began unfolding. I had always loved the outdoors and getting out and seeing places - now that I could bring those adventures home with me, I found purpose.
Once I came into the world of photography, it inspired me to start getting out more, exploring new places and capturing it. It provided an avenue for me to share these places with others and hopefully inspire them experience the beauty of the place we live. Photography has sincerely driven me into the world of adventure.
CAPTURE HOW WHAT YOU DO MAKES YOU FEEL IN 5 WORDS
FREE – GRATEFUL – INSPIRED – CURIOUS – BLOODYAWESOME
DO YOU PREFER PLANNING YOUR CREATIVE ADVENTURES OR ARE YOU DRIVEN BY DISCOVERY & THE ALLURE OF THE UNKNOWN?
To be fair, I have never been great at planning anything and I am absolutely fine with it. Probably the most planning my creative adventures get is the brief destination of where I want to head and then I just see where that takes me.
For me, the problem when it comes to planning and the images that I shoot most the time, there's always going to be something that doesn't line up or work – that in itself can ruin the adventure. Having no plan when I go out shooting allows me to be free and just see where the open road takes me.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAMERA?
The first DSLR I owned was a Nikon D5500. Before that, I used a GoPro Hero
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TO SHOOT – OCEANSCAPES, ADVENTURE & LIFESTYLE OR LANDSCAPES?
This is an extremely troubling question for me to answer! I do like shooting alone quite a bit as I find it super relaxing. Having no time constraints provides an amazing level of freedom. However, getting out with mates, going exploring and capturing those moments along the way is something that just gets the vibe up. I don't think I could pick a favourite between Adventure and Oceanscapes - they both have their time and place.
WHEN YOU’RE NOT CAPTURING MOMENTS, WHERE DO YOU LIKE TO ADVENTURE – LAND OR SEA?
This is hard because my camera and I are practically attached at the hip! It comes with me on every adventure because shooting is not only a job for me, but it is truly what I love to do. I also find it important to make sure you continue shooting the way you first started by just getting out there and doing what you love.
DO YOU FEEL YOUR CREATIVE ENDEAVOURS ISOLATE OR CONNECT YOU WITH PEOPLE?
I would have to say it does a bit of both. As I’ve grown as a photographer, my craft has definitely helped me connect with others, especially through the power of social media. Through the early stages of my Instagram account, originally @explore_with_formo, I made an amazing connection with like-minded people - not necessarily other creatives, just people that had the same interest to get out into nature and go exploring.
At the same time I also love creating alone. I'm not one to go shooting with other photographers or creators as I feel like it can limit you in some ways. This way there can be less planning and more flexibility to be in the moment.
A recent journey back in July was a last-minute road trip to the start of the Eyre Peninsula to swim with the last of the Giant Cuttlefish during mating season. It was just me, my camera and my absolute weapon of a van completely alone surrounded by absolutely no one. Five days on the road with nowhere to necessarily be and nothing to necessarily do, but to take photos and connect with nature.
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST RISK YOU’VE TAKEN GET THAT SHOT?
There's not really any moment that stands out to me to say that the risk I took was the reason I got a particular shot.
The biggest risk that I have taken along my creative journey was quitting my full-time job at the end of 2019. I absolutely hated what I was doing, but needed money at the time to finish the rebuild of my van. At the end of 2019, I was far enough along with the build to be reasonably happy and bite the bullet. I handed in my resignation and said I'm not coming back after Christmas. It was the biggest risk! I didn't have any jobs lined up, not much in savings and no idea what was in store for me. It was a risk that has paid off. It made me more determined to find work and succeed on something I had wanted to do for some time. There are still times where there's not much coming in, but then all of a sudden something pops up again.
In my way, that’s the biggest risk I have taken to get that shot, because I would hate to imagine the amount of shots I would have missed out on because I didn’t take the risk.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE PHOTO? WOULD YOU MIND SHARING IT?
This is a hard one! It changes from time to time, but currently it's a slow shutter shot I took of a wave about to break. I find it super soothing and it's something a little bit unique as well.
There is also this one shot that was captured a couple years ago now. It's a shot that brings back a lot of memories and all round just one sick last-minute chase of the sun setting at this local cliff jumping spot in South Australia.
