RUDIE BYRD

Artist Bio

My name is Rudie Byrd, I am currently a student at Cal State East Bay graduating May 2021 with my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography. I began my photographic career and education working solely with 35mm black and white film. I have acquired the skill to develop and scan my own negatives. Film Photography is where my passion is most rooted in. I’ve always been particularly fond of not relying on editing software, but instead on my own skills to get it right the first time. When I transferred to Digital Photography, I became more efficient in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. My areas of specialty lie in Product Photography, Portraits, and Skate Photography. My whole value system in becoming a Photographer is to capture beauty in the world that is worth sticking around for. I only hope and strive that this is what people witness when they look upon my photographs. 

Artist Statement

There are two encounters in my life where I experienced pure freedom and passion. The first was photographing with my Minolta camera containing Ilford Film. For three years I submerged myself solely in film photography. It was a surge of passion seeing the image reveal itself under the developer for the first time. My second experience was gliding with a pair of green roller skates on my feet. When skating I never felt so close to the freedom of escaping this world. In this series I have combined my two greatest experiences in hopes to pay tribute to their cultures.

        Individually I took different skaters to their favorite locations. I captured them unposed but purely in their element. I altered my editing process in order to embrace the qualities of Ilford Film. Therefore, I changed the color image to black and white. I focused on elevating the grain along with the contrast of highlights and shadows. Lastly, I embraced more textures and less focus on a polished result.

        Past my personal admiration, I wanted this series to represent these skaters abilities. Being around skaters I’ve come to find out that they are one of the most dedicated and passionate human beings. They do not quit until they land their trick correctly and they skate just out of the pure pleasure of their hearts. I hope only the world will become more in awe and praise of their talents.

A special thank you to Joel, Jen, and Nate for your talents.