Heiko Wolfgang Ryll

I've spent twenty-five years learning to see.

First as a graphic designer, then as a photographer, now as an educator and guide. The through-line has been Caravaggio, the Italian Baroque master whose use of light and shadow taught me that drama isn't something you add in post-processing. It's something you find by positioning yourself where the light already is.

Today I work at the intersection of photography, education, and storytelling.

I serve as the lead photographer at Tempest Theatre in Penticton, BC, where I document productions that use light the way Caravaggio painted, as a storytelling tool, not just illumination. I teach digital photography at MacEwan University, helping students move beyond technical competence toward intentional image-making. And I lead wildlife photography workshops in the South Okanagan, teaching photographers to read the landscape before they reach for the camera.

I also founded The Creative Lab, a peer mentorship community for working creatives who refuse to let their day jobs eclipse their artistic practice.

Philosophy

My work, whether it's capturing a theatre production, leading someone through a headshot session, or tracking bighorn sheep through the Ashnola Valley, comes down to the same principle: proactive positioning.

Most photographers react. They wait for the moment to happen, then try to capture it. I'd rather understand the conditions that create moments, the quality of light at a particular hour, the behaviour patterns that predict where an animal will appear, the blocking that tells me where the actor's face will catch the key light, and position myself there first.

It's the difference between hoping and knowing. And it's what I teach.

Background

The path here wasn't linear. I started in graphic design, moved into web development, spent years building educational programs, including creating Alberta's first government-approved 3D animation program as Associate Dean at Edmonton Digital Arts College. Commercial photography for beauty brands like Revlon, Wella, and Sebastian taught me precision and the demands of high-stakes image-making. Concert and festival photography taught me to work fast in uncontrollable conditions.

But it was photographing live theatre that brought everything together. Theatre lighting is Baroque painting in real-time, dramatic, intentional, and designed to direct attention. When I started working with Tempest Theatre, the pieces clicked. The technical skills, the artistic sensibility, the educational instinct, they finally had a home.

I'm based in Summerland, British Columbia, in the South Okanagan, a landscape of sagebrush hills, vineyards, and amazing wildlife. The light here is different than anywhere I've lived. Clearer. More dramatic. It rewards attention.

When I'm not behind a camera or in front of students, I'm usually in the backcountry, tracking animals and learning to read what the land has to say.

Let's Work Together

Whether you're looking for photography, education, or strategic guidance on visual storytelling, I'd love to hear what you're working on.

Get in Touch