Meet Ryan Jones: Visual Journalist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ryan Jones and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ryan, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
This is actually a question I’ve been asking myself more and more as of late, especially with the hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and the amount of time I’ve had to sit and think as I watched project after project get canceled in 2020 — a trend that has, most unfortunately, continued into 2021. If one thing is for certain, people don’t pursue these types of careers because it’s easy. Personally, I chase it because there is a high that I think those working in the creative space never get tired of experiencing and will do whatever it takes to experience again. There’s just something so rewarding about wrapping up a project and seeing what’s been created. One of my first big freelance photo jobs was with Heinz Kluetmeier, Sports Illustrated’s most senior photographer and one of the most renowned in the sports industry. Heinz had more than 100 cover photos to his credit and covered every single Olympic Games for about four decades. Working with Heinz and his crew meant working no less than a 13- or 14-hour day. And at the end of the day, I was exhausted. But I was exhausted in the best way possible. That was eight years ago — in 2012 — and I still chase the feeling I was left with after that assignment. But what I think about even more was when Heinz stopped to talk to me one day and left me with some advice about photography and why we do it. “It’s about people,” he said. “It’s about people and their stories.” I think that’s when I began to understand what stories can do and the power they possess to connect us to something bigger than ourselves. Over the years, my portfolio naturally developed into one that focused more on nature and wildlife. To complement a background in photojournalism, I eventually earned a master’s in interdisciplinary ecology and wildlife conservation — something I attribute to a lot of the nature walks with my dad and the large stacks of Zoobooks and animal encyclopedias that I had as a kid. In short: I love storytelling. I love making images. And I love the great outdoors. When I realized I had a chance to put all of that together in a way that can maybe put some good out in to the world, I felt as if I had no other choice but to start doing just that. 

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m still in the beginning phases of my journey into the realm of conservation storytelling. Most who are in the field establish themselves as scientists before picking up a camera to tell their stores of the natural world. I ended up doing things in the opposite way. I found photography and storytelling and fell in love with it before I had any idea what I really wanted to do with it. After seven years of undergraduate studies and bopping around several different career tracks, I ended up with a journalism degree from the University of Florida. A couple of years after earning my bachelor’s, I was in the Lofoten Islands of northern Norway when I realized I wanted to do more storytelling as it related to nature and wildlife. This eventually led to earning a master’s in ecology and wildlife conservation. Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to explore several creative visual storytelling mediums. One of the things I can probably claim that sets me apart from others is having helped create some of the first 3D models of various scenes in the Brazilian Amazon for an augmented reality mobile app launched by TIME Magazine in 2019 called TIME Immersive. Using photogrammetry techniques and software, a colleague and I spent a week around the country’s western state of Rondônia documenting illegal deforestation. By taking photos of an area or object from all different sides, computer software can use the individual images to create a corresponding 3D model. Implementing this into an augmented reality space through something like a phone or tablet, a person can view these models in a way that lets them interact with a scene as if it’s right there in front of them. Some models we created include a 200-yard patch of land in the middle of a jungle that was scarred by logging; illegal housing settlements; and even the remote indigenous village occupied by the Karipuna people, who are still fighting to protect their lands. One of the things I’m currently most excited about is producing what I’m hoping will be my first conservation short film. I began researching, planning and scouting with a colleague in October 2019 for a project that’s to take place in coastal Louisiana. Originally slated for May 2020, the project had to be put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fingers crossed we can get to it this year in 2021. I think we all face our own set of challenges in different ways, but so long as we can persevere, there’s really not that much to worry about. But one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is how important it is to surround yourself with good people who support you in a healthy way.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’ll be moving to Denver, Colo., in the next couple of months. Can I save this question until then? I currently live in Jacksonville, Fla., and the best spot to check out would have to be a little neighborhood called Five Points. There are some nice restaurants and bars and a really great independent movie theater called Sun-Ray Cinema.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
After watching me go through three years of pharmacy school to a semester of computational biology to a year of business school to finally landing in and graduating from a journalism school, my parents have to get the biggest shoutout. As odd as my journey was to get where I am, they were the constant foundation. Another shoutout to my girlfriend whose support I couldn’t live without. And, lastly, to the mentors and friends who have always been some of my biggest cheerleaders. You know who you are.

Website: www.ryanjones.one
Instagram: @rymajo
Twitter: @ryan_m_jones