R YA N M C G I N L E Y n u d i sts o f the sub ter ra i n
ANDREA BLANCH: You’ve been going on yearly
amazing for me that you got the people to do that.
road trips since 2004. What kept this way of working
new and exciting for over a decade?
RYAN: I think that the people who want to be part of my
project are really dedicated. I take every measure possible to
RYAN MCGINLEY: The American landscape is so vast.
make sure they are comfortable. With the winter series, the
There’s so much to explore. Every summer, I would just
first thing we did was have a sauna. It was an ice fishing tent
chip away a part of America. We would hit the road and
that can fit four people at a time. I would bring two propane
shoot for three months straight. I would come back, and
heaters, and we would get the tent to about one hundred
edit and have exhibitions, and then go back to the draw-
degrees. The models for my project would sit in that tent.
ing board and figure out new things that I wanted to ex-
Everybody would be in winter gear going to each location,
plore in America. There’s just so much, and I still feel like
so we were all suited up, and sometimes we would have to
I haven’t come close to seeing what I want to see.
hike two or three miles to get to a really great place.
I’m so interested in different parts. Down south the landscape was so diverse and rich and interesting, with the
ANDREA: Were there any near-disasters?
swamps and the cypher trees. I spent summers doing different sand dunes in Colorado and Utah and New Mexico.
RYAN: No, there weren’t. I worked with an ice climber.
I spent time in Washington State in the rainforest, and
For all my projects, I have a producer who lets me know if
shooting along the Bay Area through Oregon, up through
my ideas are doable, and how we can do them safely. For
Seattle, WA. I did caves across America. That almost took
the ice project, I got this great ice climber. I would say, “Oh,
two years because I was so into it, exploring all the net-
I have this idea of putting someone here,” and he would
works of different subterranean environments. The major-
say, “Oh, ok. We could do that. Maybe we can’t put him
ity of the caves are the area called TAGs, which stands for
there, but we can put him here. We could rig something
Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, which is where most of the
so they’re safer. This is the time limit you have to do this
caves in the United States are. I’ve done so many things.
to keep the person warm, etc.” Then with the models, I
would say, “Ok, we have the spot where we want you,”
ANDREA: Are there any must-have qualities that
and we would plan it out with all of our clothes on before-
you search for in every place you photograph?
hand. Then they would go into the sauna to change, and
we would do it quick. Then they’d just bolt. Some can last
RYAN: I really go for the landscape more than anything.
longer than others. Girls usually last twice as long as guys.
Other than that, it’s just to explore somewhere I’ve never
They have a higher threshold for the cold. I guess for pain.
been. When I grew up, I never really traveled. I’m one of
How long anyone was out in the cold basically depended
eight kids, so we could never afford to go anywhere, and
on the temperature. So if it was like twenty degrees, peo-
we stayed in the Tri-state area. So when I got to start doing
ple would last about two minutes before they would be
road trips, it was exciting for me because I’ve only seen
like, “Ok, I gotta go back in!” And if it was zero degrees,
that stuff in movies.
maybe about a minute. I would always bring about four
models with me so there wouldn’t be much downtime
ANDREA: What went on behind the scenes while you
for shooting. Once one person was done, another person
were working on the winter nudes in icy landscapes? It’s
would come out, and we accomplished a lot that way.
Portrait by Luisa Opalesky. All images courtesy Team Gallery.
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