Dr. Patrick (Paddy) Ryan

http://www.ryanphotographic.com/

Photo by Dave Herrick

Dr Patrick (Paddy) Ryan has been involved in nature since he was a young child living in Jersey in the Channel Islands. When he was five he helped his mother and father patrol beaches for oiled up seabirds which were cleaned and released to the wild. He got his first camera, a Box Brownie when he was seven, a going away present for his family’s relocation to New Zealand and then nine months later to Fiji. Here, Paddy fell in love with both Fiji and with coral reefs and rain forests.

The family returned to New Zealand in 1963 and Paddy completed his High School education and was selected to serve with New Zealand’s Volunteer Service Abroad in Sarawak, part of Malaysian Borneo. He taught High School at Marudi and learned to print black and white photos here. He bought his first single lens reflex camera during this sojourn. After his return to New Zealand and the confirmation of a doctoral degree from the University of Canterbury he went back to Fiji to teach at the University of the South Pacific.

Ten wonderful years followed before Paddy and his family returned to the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island where he worked first as Freshwater Biologist and then as an Environmental Planner before becoming a freelance Environmental Consultant and Nature Photographer.  Clients included Grenada Television, The BBC, Television New Zealand and many others.

In 1996 Paddy relocated to the United States. He currently teaches Biology, Marine Biology and Environmental Science at the Denver campus of Johnson & Wales University where he is a full professor, He also teaches Fundamentals of Ecology at the Colorado School of Mines as an adjunct associate professor. Dr. Ryan is a PADI certified divemaster with over 1,000 dives logged. He has written a number of books amongst which are Fiordland Underwater: New Zealand’s Hidden Wilderness, The Snorkeller’s Guide to the Coral Reef and Fiji’s Natural Heritage.

Paddy is an enthusiastic photographer of all of nature, both above and below water. He leads an annual dive trip to an exciting dive location. He is in demand locally as an entertaining speaker on a host of natural history and environmental topics. Any of the photos on his website are available for sale but they can also be used for non-profit educational use with permission.