*FEATURING YOU* with PHILLY NATIVE RYAN POWELL!!!!!!.............VIEW MORE

 The first time I fell in love with Ryan Powell's work was last fall when he took this photo of me below at the Philly Fashion Week Ready-to-Wear showcase! His style just captures the moment.... any moment... and made me feel like I was the only girl in the world looking back at it! =)

In the eyes of the photographer, he's more than just that but rather a "Time Stopper" & I whole heartedly agree!! I would have to say for me, the eclectic photo artist has an incomparable style as all his photo's deliver a warm feel and makes you feel as if you were there! 

Since we've met, I have been following his work as well as growth and HAD to sit down with him to share his art with the world! See more of Ryan Powell's photographs and get to know the published photographer here, through our exclusive interview below!!!........click the link to view more. 

FGT: So we all know, at this point, that your name is Ryan Powell but I want to know where does FriedGoldZero come in at? You use that as your Tumblr name right?

R. POWELL: "Yup. Ok um, well if you've ever seen Shaun of The Dead....that's a zombie movie. It's like a funnier version of Dawn of The Dead....and one of the phrases that they used in the movie was "hows that for a slice of fried gold" and I've been watching that movie for years. Ever since it came out in 2005 and every screen name that I've had whether it be YouTube, XBOX Live, Instagram, Twitter...it's always Fried Gold and Zero is just a name of one of my video games actually! I decided to put them together and BINGO."

FGT: Yea, okay ok! I just really was wondering what did that have to do with it all lol.... So tell us, are you a Philly native born & raised?

R. POWELL: "Umhm...I'm from West Philadelphia." 

FGT: So how did you get into photography and what motivates you now to continue?

R. POWELL: "Okay so, in 2007 it was a boring summer. I just got finished doing the youth city program, you know the one with the red jacket and everything?..I did that straight after high school and I graduated highs cool in 2006. So um, before I went to college (I went to Lincoln University) during that summertime I just picked up the camera and started shooting in my back yard and took pictures of flowers and stuff like that and I tried to copy off of this magazine that was sitting next to my computer and I took pictures of it and it came out wonderful!

So then, I went to the city and began photographing the buildings and landscape...you know crap like that. Then when I got to college a few months later, I took pictures of people at events and they loved it! "

 "I did my 1st photoshoot in 2008. Then 3people seen that and three more people I did their shoot and it just kept going on & on & on & on and growing from there."

FGT: That's great and congratulations! So what would you say motivates you now to continue?

R. POWELL: "It's like science, like of course you learn what you learn in high school then when you get to college or whatever you learn that there's a whole lot more to science. Photography is like science to me pretty much. There's so much to learn, so much that you can discover, create, re-create, everything! It's Art too and very fun. Plus you can see yourself get better as time goes on. I love it."

 FGT: Personally, I feel like you are a very very good photographer however, I also feel that you're very "underrated". How do you feel about that...do you feel like you are underrated?

R. POWELL: "I don't know what to think about that Um,.... I like feeling like that! You know, because it just pushes me to create better stuff. So if I wasn't underrated, it wouldn't push me to be better so I'm kinda glad!" 

FGT: That's a great answer..ok! So, what styles and categories do you cover and which is your favorite to shoot?

R. POWELL: "My favorite one is Fashion. It's so much that I can get out of it. It's abstract, its creative, & it's really fun. It makes me want to keep doing it! I mean for me when I did landscape, I'm like yeah its pretty cool but then I did a fashion shoot and it was fun. I wanted to do more! It was like a drug...and I don't do drugs lol. Any type of drugs."

FGT: Do you drink?

R. POWELL: "Um, Beer & wine. I'll take a good beer any day! but yeah its like a drug or a good beer for me anyway....And you know somebody asked me that same question before and I didn't know how to answer it. Fashion is different from everything else!"

FGT: And what other genres do you shoot? Do you just do fashion?

R. POWELL: I like and do weddings too but not as much as I do everything else. I kinda like event photography, so I can like capture moments and everything, but that's about it."

FGT: What I like most about your work is the angles and filters/tints or whatever you want to call them... Would you say the filters are like your signature thing, your signature style to your photography? And if not, what is?

 R. POWELL: " I would say that's apart of it, but what I mainly do since I don't have photo shop or whatever, I mainly use contrast, lighting, color & brightness...and maybe a little bit of airbrush. Those are the only things I pretty much work with. And um, I put a filter in here or there just to make it look vintage. Or to bring it out a little. But all those five that I just mentioned and a filter, they go hand in hand with each other pretty good."

FGT: Yea I'd say! That's one of the things that I really like about your photo's.... that they have that old feel to them. They're just warm and really captured during the moment. To me, they portray the feelings of real people. But in a different kind of way compared to the captured moments at events.

R. POWELL: "And I just try to keep it as natural as possible!.....Just try to keep my models and stuff as natural as possible."

FGT: Describe your work in three adjectives.

R. POWELL: "Fun, (and I don't know if I can say this lol)...but Fun, Kick-Ass, & Detailed!"

FGT: As a photographer, what would you say is your sole goal?

R. POWELL: "I don't want to make it sound like I'm trying to be over everybody, but to be the best! Not trying to be better than anybody else but it's more than being the best that I can be. I just wanna..(pause) 
Okay so, you know how somebody likes to travel right?...And they travel all around the earth.. What's next? Outer space then. That's where I want to go you know? I just want to go really really far with my photography. I want to bring in something new! I'm not sure what that newness is yet but I want to bring in something new...I want to do a shoot in outer space in zero gravity or something like that. I would love to..."

FGT: That would be hott! Ok okay, so do you have a favorite photographer that you look up to or a favorite person in the industry? 

R. POWELL: "Um, I forget the guys name...It's like some crazy international name. He was a photographer for Vogue. He did a couple shoots for them last year...You mind if I look it up real quick?"

FGT: Yea sure. I'm going to just ask you this next question while you do. If you were telling an inspiring photographer how to get into the craft what would you tell them?...What advice would you give to them? 

R. POWELL:"Try not to follow by the book too many times. You know it's like a lot of rules with photography. This has to be this way that has to be that way...you know centering, lighting, etc. The best photographs are those that don't follow by the book! You should know what you are doing but don't be too text book with it. It's like a basketball team, if they followed by the same stuff that they learned from the book they would never get better. They're going to have to go out of their comfort zone. 

I hate when people tell me I have to follow by the rules!...you know with the white balance and crap like that?.. Just go for it! You can't learn everything from a book! 

And, kick ass all the time!"  

FGT: Do you have any events or upcoming projects that people should know about?

R. POWELL: "I can't name them all off of the top of my head, 

but they should just watch out for me!" 

FGT: Do you have any favorite photographers in the city?

R. POWELL: "I like Ricky, he's cool. Ricky Codio....he's a good guy too! Plus I owe him $20 too lol...if he ever see's the interview he's going to be like Yup he does!.... But it's a couple of them in the city that I like...what's his name Jasen, Jasen Hudson. And who else?....Ugh, I can't remember  names right now but all their faces and work is coming up. But Brent Morales and that's all that I can think of right now." 

FGT: Lol, well okay that's kool. Just tell us now how can the people reach you via social media? 

R. POWELL: "Through email, Facebook, Instagram... On facebook my name is Ryan Powell & my Like Page is R. Powell Electography. Instagram is FriedGoldZero and my email is Rpelectography@aol.com. What else?...I got Twitter but I don't really check Twitter but if you want to find me on there it's FriedGold09...That was before the Zero. 

I have tumblr too where you can find most of my work, that's FriedGoldZero.Tumblr.com. 

{Ryan Powell, Photographer}