ryan walter wagner

video shoot.

2012-02-12T16:09:00.000-08:00

i started on a video shoot for the vancouver band love cuts. here's a few stills from a scene we shot today.

akumal visit.

2012-02-12T07:37:00.000-08:00

robin and her buddy stopped by akumal yesterday so adam & i took them for a swim in the lagoon, for lionfish tacos and for a beer up in the treehouse table at buena vida. pretty fun afternoon.

in progress.

2012-02-12T07:19:00.000-08:00

working on these guys lately. (what else is new?)

empty lot.

2012-02-12T07:12:00.000-08:00

there is an empty lot that now exists down the road. not two days before i took this photo, this area was thick with jungle.

adam. (cont.)

2012-02-12T07:05:00.000-08:00

another one from adam. we stopped by the shore to collect a few things.

ocean. (cont.)

2012-02-12T06:59:00.000-08:00

on the edge of the water, the other night.

ondarte.

2012-02-11T20:01:00.000-08:00

a few regulars.

casa iguana.

2012-02-11T10:33:00.000-08:00

last week we met a couple families from delta, bc. they invited us over to casa iguana a few times. we had some sing-a-longs and a ton of laughs.

i grabbed this photo of a cabana they have just west of the beach. nice night.

rainbow highway

2012-02-11T10:05:00.000-08:00

rainbow highway / secret river

jungle. (cont.)

2012-02-11T08:37:00.000-08:00

dos ojos.

2012-02-11T08:29:00.000-08:00

yesterday adam & i got in a collectivo so that we could be dropped off at the enterance to dos ojos. we hiked the 2km into the jungle and eventually jumped into the pools they have up there. kinda wish i was scuba diving in these caves. amazing day.

skype. (part 12 - erin)

2012-02-10T15:19:00.000-08:00

erin. photographed in vancouver, from mexico.

here in less than 3 weeks.

xcacelito.

2012-02-10T07:37:00.000-08:00

yesterday maribel and the guys took us out to xcacelito, a beautiful beach & cenote just south of here. hands down the best swimming spot i've been to. swam around and dove in there for hours. going back soooooon.

a few results.

night walk.

2012-02-10T06:16:00.000-08:00

a walk into akumal from the highway the other night.

robin.

2012-02-09T18:41:00.000-08:00

yesterday i had a buddy from vancouver stop by akumal. robin is traveling around the yucatan and currently staying in a hostel out in tulum. she decided to hop the collectivo out here and we spent the day by the lagoon and snorkeling at akumal beach. pretty good day.

ocean. (cont.)

2012-02-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

robin stopped by akumal yesterday and we spent the day wandering around yal-ku, as well as walking the road from akumal to ondarte about 6 times.

fun day!

jungle.

2012-02-08T08:58:00.000-08:00

last week adam and i rode into the jungle in search of a cenote we had heard about. at one point we saw a couple guys hanging out by a gate, so we asked them "cenote?". they whistled and pointed in a few directions, as people down here seem to do.

after a couple hours we ended up back at the gate where our "directions" we received. as it turns out, that's where the cenote was all along.

i'm still sleeping.

2012-02-08T08:38:00.000-08:00

ocean. (cont.)

2012-02-08T08:02:00.000-08:00

caribbean ocean, this misty morning.

playa del carmen. (cont.)

2012-02-06T11:42:00.000-08:00

hopped on the collectivo yesterday and got off in playa del carmen. i had to meet up with the owner of bobo (a shop in playa) to drop off some of my prints that he is going to sell. good stuff.
after my 'official' business was done, adam & i wandered around the town, grabbed a couple beers and sat on the beach for a bit. among t-shirt stands, sand and scorpions in parking lots, here are a few of my shots.

skype. (part 11 - ryan)

2012-02-06T10:53:00.000-08:00

ryan. photographed in prince rupert, from mexico.

one of my best ever buddies. miss him.

adam. (cont.)

2012-02-06T09:42:00.000-08:00

adam. underwater, four times.

coba.

2012-02-05T10:09:00.000-08:00

yesterday morning we decided to get an early start and make our way to coba, mayan ruins about an hour from here. they rent bikes on site, so we rode around in the jungle and climbed the tallest temple in the yucatan. like a lunatic i brought 4 different cameras with me. two digital and two film cameras. loved this day.

here are some digital results.

adam.

2012-02-05T08:55:00.000-08:00

adam, twice at coba.

mayan riviera.

2012-02-05T08:30:00.000-08:00

just a few shots i took last week while making stops in leona vicario, puerto morelos and playa del carmen.

roads.

2012-02-05T07:59:00.000-08:00

just a few roads we took while riding in the back of a pick-up last week.

dogs.

2012-02-03T23:34:00.000-08:00

the other day we caught a ride in the back of maru's pickup. karl and her took us around to a few amazing places. among our stops were many animals, some alive, some not. i took a bunch of photos from the animal crematorium that i'm not sure i'll share yet. one of the most interesting days i've had in mexico. we also made a stop by Tierra de Animales.

here are some shots of dogs i got that day.

bole.

2012-02-03T14:12:00.000-08:00

i've caught a ride out to tulum on a couple different thursdays. this band bole play at a little place called be tulum. normally they're out on the beach in front of a fire. there was a rain warning last night, so they saddled up under cover.

very nice time.

skype. (part 10 - bart and millie)

2012-02-03T10:50:00.000-08:00

bart & millie. photographed in vancouver, from mexico.

meow.

i'm only sleeping.

2012-02-02T21:22:00.000-08:00

i started a new series on sleep.

i've been doing 15-30 minute long exposures of myself while i sleep.

much more to come... but here's a small sample.

enrique.

2012-02-01T17:21:00.000-08:00

yesterday i spent the afternoon hanging out with my new buddy enrique. he has an amazing studio here in the jungle with a cenote in his backyard. we hung out on his rooftop patio and chatted about so many things.

drawing / painting. (cont.)

2012-02-01T16:44:00.000-08:00

a few recent drawings

maru and karl.

2012-02-01T16:25:00.000-08:00

took us out of akumal for the day. we jumped in the back of maru's pickup and rode around to some new places.

thanks guys.

skin. (cont.)

2012-02-01T16:13:00.000-08:00

reactions / reflections

the jungle (for sale) at night.

2012-02-01T05:20:00.000-08:00

i've been getting closer to being in the jungle at night. the past few nights i've wandered around anticipating a 'night time' series. broke the shutter on my pentax 35mm, so i went out last night and tried some digital shots.

here's a couple resutls.

ondarte: january 2012 showing.

2012-01-29T08:28:00.000-08:00

last night at ondarte we opened the doors to the public and showed off some of the work we've been doing during the month of january.

what a night! (more photos coming sooon!)

here are a few shots of my set-up with a couple sculptures/installations & the prints i hung.

please get in touch if you are interested in purchasing any of these prints: ryanwalterwagner@gmail.com

underwater - 31"X41"

akumal man 1 - 35"X35"

akumal man - 35"X35"

flipflops - 11"X17"

tulum 1 - 40"X27"

tulum 2 - 40"X27"

clouds:

Clouds - 11"X17"

underwater.

2012-01-28T10:33:00.000-08:00

underwater this morning.

ondarte set-up.

2012-01-28T06:33:00.000-08:00

spent a lot of yesterday getting ready for tonight's art opening at ondarte. everyone's work is looking fantastic! tonight should be amazing. i'm really looking forward to it.

here are some details on one of the pieces i built in the 'gallery'. if you're around akumal tonight, you should come by!

skype. (part9 - marnie and dean)

2012-01-28T06:14:00.000-08:00

marnie & dean. photographed in darrington, england, from mexico.

my sister & brother in law. miss them. always fun to be around.

skype. (part 8 - heather)

2012-01-27T20:36:00.000-08:00

heather. photographed in langley, from mexico.

my sister.

happy birthday. (to you)

2012-01-27T08:46:00.000-08:00

i knew that what was to be my moms 60th birthday would happen while i was away in mexico. away from my sisters, my niece, my stepfather my aunts & uncles (and most of all, her). everyone that was there.

i anticipated the heartbreak i relive on most days, i knew it would resurface as it does.

yes, i miss her.

i often want to call her on the phone and tell her about my day or hear about hers. to hear her voice, if only to say 'hello' or to have one of our amazing conversations about life and struggles and love and fear and wondering. she taught and encouraged me to be a critical thinker and she was always able to comfort me when i had no idea where to turn. her words were often enough to set me at ease and leave me thinking about the good things to come. through all her pain and suffering she was always there for me, no matter what, and i miss that.

i know life will go on and it has. things have been they way they are in life since she left, with ups & downs and all arounds. my mom always assured me that i could weave my life in any direction i wanted and her words of encouragement have and will always ring in the back of my head and from the bottom of my heart.

(dear mama, i miss & love you sooo much. happy birthday.)

last night, with help from my friend chris back in vancouver, i recorded a song for her birthday. she wrote the lyrics, we made the rest.

walk well, for you mama:

work.

2012-01-26T22:06:00.000-08:00

started my set-up for the ondarte show on saturday.

skype. (part 7 - auliya)

2012-01-25T11:44:00.000-08:00

auliya. photographed in melaque, from akumal.

skype. (part 6 - dad and karen)

2012-01-25T10:30:00.000-08:00

my dad & stepmom. photographed in surrey, from mexico.

makin' plans.

over / under.

2012-01-25T09:44:00.000-08:00

anyone who knows me, knows that i hardly swim. it's not that i don't like swimming, because i totally do. it's just that i don't live around very warm water.... and i have a dislike for cold water.

anyways, here's some shots of a swim i took.

akumal beach. (cont.)

2012-01-25T09:30:00.000-08:00

every morning i like to try and get myself going pretty early. i'll ride down to akumal beach and jump in the water to swim around, then lay on the beach and read a chapter or two of my book. a great start to the day.

results.

playa del carmen. (cont.)

2012-01-24T21:18:00.000-08:00

had to make another trip out to playa today. this time we hopped the collectivo and walked once we were in town. a good hot day, with a long time at the printers. tomorrow we'll find out the results.

after that we stopped for some tecate and nachos. i grabbed a couple photos here and there.

results.

drawing / painting. (cont.)

2012-01-24T06:40:00.000-08:00

one of the drawings i worked on yesterday...

playa del carmen. (continued)

2012-01-24T06:36:00.000-08:00

made another trip out to playa yesterday. i was eagerly awaiting my sample prints so that i will finally get my photos done for the show on saturday. after arriving at the print shop we learned that their plotter, which was being 'cleaned' last time we were in, was in fact now broken. yikes! so today will include searching for somewhere to get my 29 prints done before saturday! sounds simple enough, but this is mexico.

wish me luck.

here are a couple shots i took while waiting around.

skype. (part 5 - erin)

2012-01-23T21:25:00.000-08:00

erin. photographed in vancouver, from mexico.

buena vida.

2012-01-23T21:16:00.000-08:00

ali & i walked down to buena vida to meet up with karl & maru for a drink and something to eat. there was a nfl conference championship game on the big screen. i took a few long exposures and smashed them together as well as a video.

results.

caribbean ocean.

2012-01-22T20:09:00.000-08:00

i guess this is starting to become a continuation of all the photos i did last year on the pacific ocean. this time i'm at the caribbean ocean. nice...

3 results.

drawing / painting. (cont.)

2012-01-22T16:02:00.000-08:00

after an early swim, i stuck around my 'outdoor' workspace all day and did some drawing ^ painting ^ etc.

skype. (part 4 - erin)

2012-01-22T11:13:00.000-08:00

erin. photographed in vancouver, from mexico.

horizons.

2012-01-22T10:11:00.000-08:00

there is a little spot off the beach where i like to swim where the water changes color. its mainly due to rocks underneath, but it looks crazy nice.

here's me in the middle of one of those points. looking east & looking west.

turtles. (cont.)

2012-01-22T09:59:00.000-08:00

i woke up at my regular time this morning... somewhere between 6-8am. but instead of laying in bed for an hour checking email and reading news, i hopped out of bed and on to my bike. rode down to akumal bay for a swim and spotted these guys.

it was an almost vacant beach with even less people in the water.

gonna have to make this a regular thing.

drawing / painting. (cont.)

2012-01-21T16:01:00.000-08:00

inspired by a scene i've seen a lot of times since i've been here.

keepin' on.

playa del carmen.

2012-01-21T13:59:00.000-08:00

yesterday erin, ali & i drove out to playa del carmen to get a few things done. a stop at the printers, a couple fabric stores, a couple big box stores and a baker. i'd say it was a success.

later that night we were invited to a birthday party. i drank modelo's and smoked camels on the patio. met a few people that turn out to be solid conversation.

i also liked hearing/seeing the tradition of having to bite the cake after you blow out the candles. even if you know that guaranteed someone is going to stuff your face in the cake.

i had a pretty fun day. here's a few things i saw that day/night.

drawing / painting. (cont.)

2012-01-21T13:38:00.000-08:00

just doodling today

turtles. (cont.)

2012-01-21T13:31:00.000-08:00

the other day in the bay. swam along some turtles.

artists of ondarte. (january 2012)

2012-01-21T12:13:00.000-08:00

last summer i acquired a number of yearbooks from the mid-late 1960's. i really like the poses that they had the students doing back then.

so this week i decided to do my own take on that era of photography.

may i introduce the artists of ondarte for january, 2012.

1. ali goodwin - usa - photographer (voted most likely to stub her toe)

2. amy clay - usa - mixed media (voted most likely to keep an eye out for dark chocolate)

3. jaqueline cole - mexico - painter (voted most likely to find the best snorkel spots)

4. karl saliter - usa - sculptor (voted most likely to juggle a 6 foot egg)

5. marina fomenko - russia - mixed media / installations (voted most likely to paint everything you own, white)

6. ryan wagner - canada - photographer (voted most likely to make this list)

sea / sky.

2012-01-21T10:06:00.000-08:00

juust above the surface.

snorkel.

2012-01-21T09:47:00.000-08:00

bubbles.

2012-01-21T09:09:00.000-08:00

got my technique down for photographing bubbles in the ocean.

two results.

under the sea.

2012-01-19T23:09:00.000-08:00

definitely had my best snorkeling today. jackie took us out to an amazing spot out in akumal bay. it was everything i'd hoped for.

here's one shot i got. (more coming)

skype. (part 3 - ieshia)

2012-01-19T21:21:00.000-08:00

ieshia, photographed in toronto, from mexico. my niece. miss her to bits.

skype. (part 2 - karen)

2012-01-19T15:19:00.000-08:00

my step-mom karen. photographed in cloverdale, from mexico.

we seem to talk a lot more when i'm way down here.

skype. (part 1 - erin.)

2012-01-19T08:48:00.000-08:00

erin. photographed in vancouver, from mexico.

we skype most days.

flip.

2012-01-18T19:13:00.000-08:00

the ups, the downs, the all arounds.

drawing / painting. (cont.)

2012-01-18T16:32:00.000-08:00

had to take another crack at this drawing of karl. i like it better now.

eat it.

2012-01-18T15:57:00.000-08:00

lunch / lunch

drawing / painting (cont.)

2012-01-18T11:53:00.000-08:00

working on this today. inspired by karl.

painting / drawing. (cont.)

2012-01-18T11:02:00.000-08:00

got around to drawing / painting this guy today. still drying.

akumal beach. (cont.)

2012-01-18T07:30:00.001-08:00

took some time to work on my tan yesterday.

sean wesley wood & the vancouver vipers.

2012-01-17T21:51:00.000-08:00

i shot this video here in Akumal today.
the song was recorded in 2007 or 2008 by joel tong, the day before my birthday. we played a house show that night and it was probably one of the best/weirdest/amazing/crazy shows of my life.

FREE SEAN WESLEY WOOD!

ali.

2012-01-17T19:33:00.000-08:00

finally got to try my new underwater camera. the water was a bit messy today. visibility was limited, but i still managed a few shots.

akumal beach. (cont.)

2012-01-17T17:42:00.000-08:00

the clouds lifted and we got some sun today. peddled our selves down to akumal beach for some turtle time and photo taking.

akumal beach is a gold mine. golden.

and there's this guy...

new road.

2012-01-17T17:16:00.000-08:00

took a ride down to halfmoon bay in time to watch the sun set.

this is the road i take every day.

jaqueline.

2012-01-17T08:55:00.000-08:00

last night at ondarte we had an artist talk. it was a terrific evening full of great people.

before the evening started, i managed to get this photo of jacks. she's a painter from just up the road and is working at ondarte this month as well. we had some great conversation about her paintings yesterday. interesting conversation seems to be the norm around here.

overpass.

2012-01-16T06:22:00.000-08:00

if you plan to go north, you stay this side.

a trip to the south means you over-pass.

poetic / triptych.

2012-01-15T17:57:00.000-08:00

i got lost on a plate of paint

the rain poured in and mixed my mind

splatters that are neither here nor there,

a wash in a world never to know anything beyond its tiny border

yet, still as beautiful as anything i've seen.

wander.

2012-01-15T14:34:00.001-08:00

today i took a few wanders around akumal. i had a book that i picked up at the local library a couple days ago and made a few stops to read a chapter or two, i also managed to shoot a few short videos of the windy day and i wrote a bunch of lyrics to some songs i've been working on.

on my rounds i caught a few photos

kitchen window.

2012-01-14T16:15:00.000-08:00

i took this as i was standing in the kitchen waiting for my frozen pizza to burn on the stove.

clouds. (cont.)

2012-01-14T15:32:00.000-08:00

a few more of those monster clouds from yesterday. these ones i shot from Chuy's car as we drove to playa del carmen.

i love them.

lot.

2012-01-14T11:50:00.000-08:00

made our weekly trip out to playa del carmen for groceries. i snapped these 2 shots while waiting to get in the car for the ride home.

drawing / painting.

2012-01-14T11:33:00.000-08:00

a few paintings/drawings i've been working on here in mexico. ink/watercolor on packing paper.

clouds. (cont.)

2012-01-14T09:57:00.000-08:00

yesterday morning i doddled down to the rocky shore near where i'm living in mexico to work on a project i'm attempting. as i sauntered i turned around to look at the path i had taken and looked up to see the most beautiful clouds i've seen since a day driving across the canadian prairies around 2004. all day long these clouds hung around just out of reach. i loved every one of them.

a continuation of my cloud series.

akumal beach. (cont.)

2012-01-12T13:29:00.000-08:00

i was wandering the road to akumal today photographing shapes & shadows. i figured since i made it all the way to town that i would take a little walk down the beach.

snapped a few photos.

results.

palapa in the rain.

2012-01-11T18:32:00.000-08:00

i rode my bike down to the town this evening. on my way back the sky opened up and drenched me. i didn't mind.

when i was back at my house, working and sipping on a coke it started to really pour out. i snapped a few shots

from under the safety of my palapa.

i love this place.

tulum (ruins)

2012-01-11T12:27:00.000-08:00

here are some shots of the actual ruins. terrific day out.

tulum (tourists)

2012-01-11T12:03:00.000-08:00

yesterday i was able to fullfill a 3+ year dream of visiting tulum. here are some shots of other people visiting these mayan ruins as well.

clouds. (cont.)

2012-01-11T08:13:00.000-08:00

continuing my cloud series. this time from tulum.

underwater. (part 3 - human)

2012-01-10T15:05:00.000-08:00

everyday i'm snorkelin'.... (more from my underwater series)