Hello and thank you for taking the time to visit my website. I am a photographer from the town of Sonoma, in Northern California. My biggest passion in life is creating photographs while exploring the outdoors. I am very much fascinated by the natural world and consider myself basically a hunter of moments in time and light.

I was introduced to photography as a teenager at an interesting time when film cameras were in the process of being phased out, but digital technology hadn't yet rivaled the quality of film. Nowadays I am strictly a digital photographer but many of the photographs on my website are from the old days of film. Sometimes I get lucky and happen upon an amazing scene while driving or on casual walk but what I enjoy most about outdoor photography is finding unique settings that only exist under special circumstances that most often require a significant amount of planning and effort. It's a game where you lose very often but the occasional "wins" make it all worthwhile.

I have dedicated much of my life to this craft and it seems like there is no end to the photographic ideas I have in mind for the future so check back every once in a while to see some new images or please subscribe to my newsletter so you can be updated when new work is released. I like to say to collectors of my work "remember this moment with me" because some of the moments I have been able to create on film or in digital form have truly been some of the best moments of my life where camera-in-hand or not, I could be standing there observing the scene in front me thinking "wow there's really no place in the world I'd rather be right now". Great moments and memories like this can never be forgotten and I always make a point to step away and "soak it in" for a few seconds while photographing an amazing scene unfolding in front of me.

Maybe my work inspires you to get outside a little more often and enjoy nature, maybe it reminds you of memories of a certain place or person, or maybe it simply allows you a moment in your day to take your mind off whatever is going on and think about the image you are looking at. I hope you enjoy my work and very much appreciate all the support from my family, friends, and collectors that keep me going and creating. I can't thank you enough. Please stay in touch or simply say hello using the “contact” page. Thanks again for stopping by the site.

-Ryan Daffurn

Style, Technique, Tools, Inspiration:

Editing images either in-camera using camera techniques and settings, in the darkroom, or in the digital darkroom (the computer) is quite a subjective and lengthy topic regarding what is considered “retouched” or how the retouching is performed. My personal preference is to only edit the exposure, color, and contrast of photographs with intent to replicate what I saw in real life, choosing not to composite pieces of other images, add or remove anything from a scene to make it look different, or use artificial intelligence to change the image. By doing so I am not saying there is anything wrong with using any of these processes but with all the options available today and the ease with which they are performed, I do like to state that I do not partake in certain actions. My personal preference is for viewers and collectors of my work to know that what they are seeing is an authentic moment, event, or scene.

I could speak volumes about camera gear I currently have and historically used over the years but don’t like to emphasize the subject when considering what has helped me progress my photographic skills or allowed me to have created a certain photograph. I would likely credit many other factors to have equal importance to the quality of a certain photograph than the type or brand of camera, film, or tripod used to make it. I use camera gear that is the most convenient and beneficial for specific circumstances, mostly determined by what I can physically carry (weight).

From a very early age up until my teenage years I was always interested in landscape and wildlife picture books. Imagery and books by Ansel Adams, Galen Rowell, Frans Lanting, Art Wolfe, and Andris Apse have always and continue to inspire me.

Because of my interest in both black and white and color photography, I choose to create photographs using a digital camera in color format and use a computer program to convert color images into a separate black and white version. This way I can have both. Most photographs on this website are available in both options but in some rare cases I find only one of the two appeals to me.