Every single one of us has our own trajectory on this Earth. Some factors are out of our control, but passion and dedication can nudge you firmly on course. Take photographer Evan Ruderman, who parleyed his love for the outdoors into a career that puts him on a summit, or on a distant shore, multiple times a year. After making the move to California back in 2019 to pursue a photography internship with Chris Burkard, Evan’s focus has become crystal clear. And with a strong work ethic in his back pocket, the path to creating lasting photographs is right there in front of him.

 

The Word with Evan Ruderman

 

How's it going, Evan? 

I'm good. Just enjoying some time at home in SLO (San Luis Obispo). It's sunny, but it's been super windy springtime conditions all week. I didn't grow up out here and winter is awesome, just surfing every day, and then suddenly it just flips and it's spring and it's windy.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up on the East Coast in a small town called Hopkinton, New Hampshire. There were 60 kids in my graduating class in High School. The town has one pizza shop, one café, a gas station and one little supermarket, so really the only thing to do as a kid was to spend time outside hiking, climbing, backpacking, skiing, snowboarding, all that sort of stuff.

 

What first pulled you into photography?

Most of my childhood I was outside and naturally that kind of progressed into wanting to shoot photos of what we were doing. I have an older brother and I spent a lot of time with him and his friends. As the little brother it was always, ‘Take a video of this, take a photo of this.’ I started shooting photos of all the things we were doing together as friends outside. Then that kind of transferred into ‘Oh this is really fun.’ There was a math teacher at my high school who was also a photographer on the side. I did an independent study with him and learned all the foundations of photography. I'd wake up at 4 a.m. and drive to a waterfall or cool scenic area and go shoot landscapes with him on the weekends, which was my introduction to photography.

 

And you just gravitated towards it quickly?

Yeah, I fell in love with it. And then I went to college at the University of Michigan and wasn’t shooting photos as much. As a Junior I went and lived in Chile for six months for a study abroad program. I was down there traveling all over South America. Going to cool places and meeting cool people and I began shooting photos all the time. That was a critical time in my life entering senior year trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I was having so much fun traveling and shooting photos and there was this thought in the back of my mind like that this is what I want to do. But I didn't really think it would be a sustainable lifestyle at the time. I saw that internship on Chris Burkard's website and thought, ‘Maybe I'll just apply for this.’

 

You applied and hoped for the best?

Yeah. I saw Burky had an internship that started in May, so I waited my whole senior year and in the spring of my senior year I was like, ‘Alright, I'll see where this goes.’ I sent an email with a little information about myself and my portfolio of work. Somehow it got offered to me and I went from there.

 

When did you move out to California?

I moved in May of 2019, right when I got the internship. I thought it would be a few months and I've been out here for five years now.

 

What do you feel that experience brought you during that formative phase in your photography career?

I didn't really have any experience in the industry, and I was thrown into it full on. But at the same time, it was a gradual process, starting as an intern and then helping as a PA on a few shoots here and there and then slowly working my way through the ranks to a First Assistant. What sets Chris apart and has made his work stand out is that he is willing to go to great lengths to shoot photos. I think it’s something that a lot of people overlook. People think about the gear, or they think about settings and editing, but for him it's about going to a place that's far away that people haven't seen. It always translates into cool work and interesting stories and so that was a helpful thing to learn and ingrain in myself. To go do these things and shoot these photos, you must be willing to put a lot of time and effort into doing it.

It was more of a lead by example type approach?

Yeah, it was a keep up or fall behind type of thing. If the plan is to drive through the middle of the night and start hiking at 2 AM, he's doing it. The other people on the shoot are doing it. And when you're the new scrappy intern, you're down.

 

Your work is directly tied to light and various conditions. Do you have a certain lens or frame that you use for certain light aspects? 

I was just in El Salvador on a surf trip, so I brought some Tech One Sport’s with nice and dark polarized lenses, which are crucial for the ocean glare. I'm going on a mountaineering trip in the Eastern Sierra soon, so I got some Road Glacier sunglasses for being out on the snow at elevation. Electric has all sorts of polarized fishing shades meant for super low light, which I've come to realize can be crucial for twilight hours. Electric has a pair of sunglasses for any activity that I'm doing. It's like another tool in your toolkit. When you're going on these adventures far away from home, you want to be able to bring one or two pairs of sunglasses that work best for what you need in that exact moment.

What makes a good photograph?

If I really had to boil it down, I would say a good photograph makes you feel something. It could make you feel amazed, happy, sad, angry, nostalgic, or a million other things but when you look at a good photo it should evoke emotion. After all the years of shooting my favorite photos aren’t the prettiest or most sharp but really are the ones that prompt an emotional response.

 

Do you do you have a favorite subject to shoot?

My favorite subject is outdoor adventure. It's general, but I've leaned away from pigeonholing my photography. There are so many things I like to do, and I like to be able to explore all those things. We're coming up on summer, which for me will mean a lot of backpacking and mountaineering here at home in the Eastern Sierra. This summer I'm working on putting together a big, 8-day trek in Peru. I try and plan out a few things each year that I'm really stoked on personally, just to keep myself excited.

 

What continues to inspire you to get out and create new photographs? 

The biggest reason that I fell in love with photography was to be outside doing fun things with cool people in cool places. Whenever I'm a little stuck or not feeling inspired is when I start dreaming up those faraway trips. Because the goal has always been to be able to go see new places and shoot photos of them. So many people that I know are out doing cool things and shooting amazing photos, and that's always a strong source of inspiration for me. It’s a good reminder that this is a viable path and gets me excited to go make my own stuff too.

What does Visual Evolution mean to you?

I think it means always creating these products that are evolving and improving to be the best they can be for all these different categories. Electric released a new frame that draws inspiration from the Sahara Desert. And I think as a photographer, that's kind of always what I'm doing in terms of evolving and going to new places and trying new things. The look of my photos is always changing. In this crazy outdoor sports world, you must always be evolving and innovating and changing your style.