Ruhter, Ian
Ian Ruhter is a fine art photographer, making portraits and exploring the landscape using the wet plate collodion process, who has become internationally known for creating the world’s largest photographs with this historical medium. He spent his youth growing up with learning disabilities, and found reading and writing to often be problematic. At the age of 25 he discovered photography and quickly realized that it could be a powerful means of communication that could provide him a voice in ways that he hadn’t had in the past. As he learned about photography and progressed his skills with the medium, he began to think that using it as a means to make a living would benefit him by allowing him to both express himself and provide for his life. It was at this point that he set out working commercially and quickly picked up the clothing and shoe brand, Vans. As a client they kept him quite busy shooting catalogs and ad campaigns which eventually led to other editorial jobs that allowed him more creative freedom. Even though he was beginning to pick up other clients, Vans kept him on as a salaried photographer who provided year round work to him. However, building and running a successful commercial practice became a more unfulfilling endeavor over time, and Ian began to explore other options within the photographic industry. Creativity and uniqueness became something for him to now set his sights on.
Episode:
Ian Ruhter, Nancy Mooslin, Roman Vishniac, Stephen Nguyen