Ryan Kenny
Ryan Kenny is a young photographer who already has an impressive portfolio, including shoots for Oyster, Junk, Elle Girl Japan, Dazed & Confused, Nylon (US), and i-D. He’s also a co-founder of The Adventure Handbook — an independent print magazine with a strong online and Instagram (@theadventurehandbook) presence that shares the stories of travellers and photographers from around the world. Ryan has done a lot of traveling in his time, too. He’s roamed around California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, upstate New York and Colorado in the US, often shooting with friends and collaborators in Los Angeles while he’s there. In Australia, he has covered half the country, taking trips from Melbourne to Byron Bay for BluesFest, heading into the Blue Mountains for magazine shoots, driving from Adelaide to Alice Springs, taking trips to Tasmania to explore their national parks, and more. “My favourite location is the Flinders Ranges – it’s where I want to live when I get older. It’s extremely Australian – so much so that it feels like a movie set. When you go to the pub it feels like you’re in the Australian version of a Western film.” While he takes many of his photos on his travels, for Ryan, the experience comes first. “As a kid I was never really taught how to make anything, so I guess traveling is my version of that – we never went camping as a kid so it was such a new thing that I became obsessed with it. It feels like I’m doing something, and it creates the best and weirdest memories. And when you travel with someone you get to know them properly, for better or for worse.” One of his most memorable trips was a 28-day journey from Adelaide to Alice Springs and back with five friends. He didn’t take a phone. “It’s all about being in the moment, living each day to the fullest, whether it’s a great day or it’s effed. You’re in your own bubble but you’re open to new experiences and new people.”