I was depressed, and worn out from anxiety...but then photography changed my life.

My name is Ryan. I'm 21 years old. If the sun is setting, I'm probably over at the beach taking some photos.

If you were to ask me 5 years ago where I would be right now, I would have told you "Living with my parents". I'm not saying that's a terrible situation to be in after high school. But during my junior  year, I was hopeless, thinking I would forever have to live off the back's of my mom and dad. I didn't have friends. I didn't want to work. I didn't want to go to college. 

In 2012, during my senior year of high school, I hit rock bottom depression. Depression ran in the family. I went from an honors student to dropping out. That's right, I stopped going to school (in 2013, I finished high school via online courses), I spent my days in bed feeling sorry for myself. Through video games and television I tried to escape my chemical imbalance, but they only put me into further isolation. 

Everything changed the next year because I discovered a new hobby: photography. I knew I had to make a difference in my life. Somehow, I was drawn to the mountains. I live in Washington where I'm blessed to have the Cascade Mountains only an hour drive away. Somehow I was drawn back to nature, and thank God for that urge. I decided to hike Mount Dickerman with a buddy of mine, which was a huge leap for me. My dad offered to let me use his Canon 7D while out on the mountain, so that was pretty awesome of him.

Big Four Mountain, WA. My first ever landscape photograph.

That's where it all started. I was hooked. I had a new passion in life. For years now I have made it my mission to capture the most beautiful photographs. I'm always searching for good light and compositions.

I took a gap year between high school and college, which turned out to be one of my best life decisions. Currently I'm about to enter my third year at WWU studying computer science. The war against depression is still on, and always will be, but it's a lot easier to cope. 

My hope is that through this platform people can read my stories and relate to my depression and anxiety. It's really normal. I hope my photography can somehow inspire people to go outside and see this beautiful world God created. 

My face covered in sunscreen as I took this shot after sunrise.

Take care,
Ryan Steele M.