Artist Spotlight: Ricky Portis

Story by Maddi Hill Photos courtesy of Ricky Portis A unique view of the world has prompted photography student Ricky Portis to share his photography. Portis is a 6 year student majoring in Photojournalism. Portis sees the world through a camera lens. The sun is his studio while light and shadows add depth to the world. Portis finds the beauty in everything. Every part of the world can help capture an image. Portis uses the world around him to add a unique touch to his photography. He takes inspiration from everyday things such as nature or art. Portis looks at his photography as paintings. Inspired by renaissance-era paintings, he tries to mimic the paintings as photography. He achieves this through the use of light and digital editing. The Italian painter Caravaggio is one of Portis’ inspirations. Portis discovered Caravaggio’s work through a friend. He began examining Caravaggio’s paintings. He found he loved the way Caravaggio worked with light and shadows. “I wanted to try and emulate that in my photos,” he said. Not only does he see his photography as paintings, but as art themselves. Capturing moments is just as important to him as setting up a photoshoot for a vision he has. Portis wants to show the world through his eyes and his artistic outlook. Portis began photography when he received his first iPod. He was fascinated with the way light and shadows interacted with objects and wanted to capture it. As time went on, he upgraded his equipment and his skills. Portis loves photography. Photography is his artistic expression and provides an emotional connection to the world for him. “Photography is an extension of myself,” he said.