Broadway! Nightlife! Drag!
When it comes to Ryan Rudewicz and his Polaroids, everything deserves an exclamation point. His big aspirations took him from a childhood in Cape Cod, Massachusetts to a theater career in New York City. He now works in company management and ticketing for a little Broadway show you might have heard of: Hamilton.
Ryan’s Day Job
The draw of the stage is powerful for many of us, but where did photography come into the picture? For Ryan, it was always there. He was shooting everything on his digital camera until the fateful day when he discovered Polaroid almost six years ago. It clicked instantly as the perfect way to photograph events and parties. There was something genuine about the moments captured by the instant film.
Ryan in mirror on dunes.
When the pandemic hit, it was time for adaptation. Ryan was furloughed from his job, events stopped, and suddenly he had to rethink what could be done with his creative outlet. “Polaroid gave me a chance to feel creative again in a dark time,” Ryan said, thinking back to that strange period of lockdowns and loneliness. He began to experiment more with instant film and even buy more cameras. Bringing his Polaroid 600 on daily walks, he made a point of taking at least one photo per outing. “Walks turned into drives and I was driving up and down the Cape taking pictures of all the beaches and dunes.” Soon he started taking along props, such as a mirror for self portraits.
Hanukah Lewinsky
Social gatherings eventually returned and Ryan was ready—poised with his Polaroid in hand. “Drag has always been something I’ve admired,” he explains, “Drag artists work so hard and pour their soul into their art. It’s incredible.”
Miz Cracker
The electric feel of the Polaroid was a loud presence among the nightlife. Ryan was nervous at first to document the queens at work, afraid of drawing attention away from the art of the drag with the bright flash and buzz of the ejected snapshot. After getting to know some of the artists, Ryan was relieved to hear that they loved the camera and encouraged him to shoot even more. Now he never leaves home without his Polaroid.
Ryan considers his creative drive, “It is important to me that I capture as much queer nightlife and culture as I can.” He found his medium. He found his niche. What more could an artist desire?