Ryan Bird - A Portfolio
Filmmaker | Photographer | Digital Artist
I’m a West Midlands based artist focused on moving and still image mediums. I shoot mostly on digital, with a Sony A7 III and Fujifilm X-T200, though when I can I also shoot on a variety of 35mm film stock.
Below is a selection of my work. I’ve aimed to give you an overview of my range, but the focus is mainly around moving image art and photography.
I have a Risk Awareness in Production pass from First Option and am an Alum of the TV & Film Fusion Course from Mission Accomplished. I have over 8 years experiences in marketing and video production in the commercial sector for such companies as Paycare, Fleming Verandas, Co-operatives UK, and Energy Angels.
Explore my career below
By category
In the News
Film premiere and Q&A at Home Cinema
Co-op News
Debuting my archive documentary short on the history of political filmmaking in the Co-operative Movement, the film was followed by a Q&A with me, John Henshaw and Archivist Jane Donaldson. It was a proud moment to show my film Co-operative Cinema: A Movement in Moving Image along side some selections from the archive.
Lead photographer - Wolverhampton Film Festival
BBC News
I joined the team at Wolverhampton Film Festival as their lead photogrpaher. Over five days I captured the highlights of the festival, culminating with the awards ceremony! It was a joyous occasion and I got to see many old friends and make many more new ones.
Photojournalism
Athens - February to March 2023
Following a devastating train crash, protests began to form across the city. Due to a police pushback and lack of Government action, the protests eventually grew into a city wide strike and mass demonstration. 100ft from the street wide march, tourists continued to shop unaware. The day after I left, the airport joined the general strike.
London - November 2024
One of the smaller pro-Palestinian protests, this demonstration drew an even smaller counter protest. Strangely, the Zionist contingent drew a comparison between the Manchester Arena bombing and the Palestinian struggle and at one point attempted to garner a reaction by entering the protest with their signs raised. They were ignored and there were no altercations during my time there.
Event Photo/Videography
Midcounties Co-operative AGM 2024
A hot, early summers day at Walsall FC grounds. The Midcounties Co-operative AGM and Fairer Living Festival brought in people from all across the Midlands to celebrate a more sustainable way of doing business. I didn’t get to enjoy an ice cream though as there were was so much for me to shoot and film.
Equiptment:
Sony A7 III | E mount 28 – 70mm | SMC Pentax M 135mm | SMC Pentax M 50mm | Røde Shotgun mic | Røde lapel mic (borrowed)
Backstage Live - CLAVIS 7EVEN
I was the producer/director of the 9020 live production in the Lupo Lounge, Wolverhampton. Managing my own media team, we worked out the shot list, set up the lighting, and covered the whole event (including post show interviews). It was my first time leading a team in this capacity and I’m happy with how it all worked out. The team at Assonance, who managed the production design, were also fantastic collaborators, and were pivotal in getting the best sound recording of the event.
Equiptment:
Sony A7 III x2 | E mount 28 – 70mm x2 | DJI Gimbal | Røde Shotgun mic
Chaiiwala Ad - BTS
Over two days we covered four stores across Birmingham and London. It was one hell of on an onset experience getting to work so closely with the creative team. On day two we even pulled of an ambitious shot on the London Underground; the whole shoot was an adventure. Key for me was all the free food Chaiiwala provided!
Equiptment:
Sony A7 III x2 | E mount 28 – 70mm | Røde Shotgun mic
IWG: Leamington Spa 1st anniversary
Opened in 2024, Regus Leamington Spa is a beautiful office space with countrywide access to hot desking. The new office facility offers many luxary perks to local business owners. I was summoned to capture the celebrations at the bequest of Managing Director Tom.
Equiptment:
Sony A7 III | E mount 28 – 70mm | Røde Shotgun mic
See what they posted:
MLS Barcelona Promo
Shot over two hours on a rainy Sunday, this promo was to be delivered in a week for an upcoming event in Barcelona. The brief was to make something somewhat ‘cinematic’ that told a story of how their business works. Working with the staff, I walked the warehouse and composed several ‘scenes’ that could convey their services and their scope.
Equiptment:
Sony A7 III | E mount 28 – 70mm
Halloween: Breakout BTS
A dark, but mild, Autumn night, a small crew assembled to produce a Halloween fan film… this is what I saw. A very lovely group of professionals working together to bring an artists vision to life. As you will see from the video, I got a lot of entertainment out of the number of takes it took to pull the one shot film off. As always, shooting and editing was all done by myself.
Equiptment:
Sony A7 III | E mount 28 – 70mm | Røde Shotgun mic
Wolverhampton Film Festival: 2025
Over five days I captured all the highlights of the event. It was amazing to celebrate film in my home city and I was proud to be a part of it. So many of my talented contemporaries came down for the festivals and I had a blast catching up with old friends and meeting many more new ones!
Equiptment:
Sony A7 III | E mount 28 – 70mm | Røde Shotgun mic
ABSTRAKT Rave at Astoria
There was something mystical and beyond my understanding in watching this event unfold in a closed down movie theatre. They were a lovely crowd, but raves are not my usual scene and DJing is not my medium, and yet here I stood in corpse of one of my own mediums archaic vessels. A once quiet space now encouraging of noise. I was happy to see the space being used. The audio from this job was predictably unusable and we couldn’t the secure the rights for the video, so I had to improvise.
Equiptment:
Sony A7 III | E mount 28 – 70mm | Røde Shotgun mic
Power of Poetry - Wolverhampton Literature Festival
Produced by Arun Kapur and Gracey Bee, this event was a part of the cities annual literature festival. I was asked to come down and capture the spirit of the day, and many of the artists agreed I succeeded. It was a lovely day of spoken word poetry, music, moving images, and performance art, and we each left with new thoughts to chew on. It was a day souls sangs.
Equiptment:
Sony A7 III | E mount 28 – 70mm
Twelve Opening Night
Just 24hrs prior the venue was still a construction site. Hard working crews toiled till dawn to get the space ready for opening night. So often do new places open in our towns and cities and yet so rarely are we there to watch them birthed. It was exciting to see how the first crowds enjoyed the newly finished club. Lighting was especially difficult on this occassion as they had not yet fully completed works. For me, this night gig came at the end of a very long day shooting BTS on a short film in Birmingham.
Equiptment:
Sony A7 III | E mount 28 – 70mm | Røde Shotgun mic
Showreels
My old Showreel from April 2024 still has some things to offer. But joing the mix now is also my end of 2024 showreel, comprised solely of shots taken between April – December 2024. I think the two in comparison provide good testimony to my growth.
Equiptment:
Sony A7 III | Fujifilm X-T200 | E mount 28 – 70mm | XC mount 15 – 45mm | SMC Pentax M 135mm | SMC Pentax M 50mm | Røde Shotgun mic
Travel Photography
Greece
USA
Turkey
United Kingdom
Want to hire me?
Want to do some business? Or just want to give me some feedback? Whatever it is, shoot me an email and I’ll make sure to respond.
