Biography

“From sublime Peruvian faces, urban fashion environs to bold slashes of tropical color, Tamela Ryatt’s photography is a wild ride through varied styles and emotions. Exotic journeys to Mexico, Africa, India, Peru and others often serve as a background for Ryatt’s captivating, and strikingly beautiful photography. The simplicity of forms and vibrancy of color that dominate Buddhist art find their way into her visual vocabulary.”

Fresno Magazine

Tamela Ryatt began her pursuits of photography in the early 80’s as the yearbook photographer at her high school and then traveled to Europe the summer she graduated and return home with images that were instinctively artful. After a year of consideration and general studies, she declared Art as her major and focused on photography.

While working on her bachelor’s degree, Tamela took a job photographing for a couple of local newspaper s and found that she was being asked by local merchants to make images for their advertisements and marketing. Work progressed and through the 90’s Ryatt found a niche that she excelled at and found her images published in magazines and winning prestigious awards with the submission of the photographs she would take for her interior design clients.

Ryatt also loves to share her passion for photography with others, which led her to a teaching career at Sunnyside High School where she has been bringing the traditional art and technique of black and white photography to more than 200 students every semester for the past 10 years.

She has recently joined forces with her partner, Karen Johnston, a metal artist, establishing Ryatt Johnston Gallery which houses both their artwork. The gallery is open by appointment and has two open houses yearly. To view images of Karen’s metal art, please visit ImaginationMetals.com..