An introduction...

Hello. My name is Marc Ruiz. Welcome to my website. 

A little about myself…

I am a writer and photographer living in the San Francisco Bay Area. When I began studying photography in 2008, taking blurry photos with my Canon point and shoot, it was evident that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. To me, the camera was nothing more than a temporary signature of your experiences; a digital yearbook you would occasionally sift through on a bored Sunday afternoon. Then, something happened.

I attended a friend's wedding, armed with a Canon PowerShot A560 I had recently purchased on a whim. I began shooting as my friends and I crawled deeper and deeper into an alcohol induced celebration of unity. I fired away, my own drunkenness feverishly growing with each click of the shutter. I browsed through the settings, adjusting shutter speed and aperture controls that I didn't quite fully understand and in no way should have yielded a positive result. But that's exactly what happened. Sort of.

Following the painful farewell of a much deserved hangover, I began to scroll through the images. Some shots excited me, surprised me even, while others provided a clear indication of the amount of learning ahead of me. But one thing was clear. I had found a brand new passion in which I would soon engulf myself, aching to learn as much as I could. Mistakes were inevitable. But so was success, be it strictly personal.

As I've grown as a photographer over the years, one of the strangest realizations I've come to is feeling that I still have yet to discover a true niche. Although I prefer people, I tend to shoot a bit of everything, aim often abandoned, left with only the camera and subject and the candid shot I've grown to appreciate and in most cases, seek. My goal is to capture moments as they happen, not as they're waiting to. That's not to say I don't enjoy other types of photography. I just feel I'm at my best when the subject is only partially aware of my presence.

In 2014, I started a blog that, while not always photography related, or even at all, was an attempt to share stories about myself, personal stories that while a little embarrassing for me could hopefully be enlightening to some, entertaining even. Writing has always been a passion of mine and who knows, you may find something you like, or at the very least, can relate to.

Thank you all for visiting.