Ryan Stone @ryanstonephoto - Tumblr Blog

Guy Conti, Mets Bullpen Coach for The New York Times

AJ Kirk in W. Palm Beach, Florida for The New York Times

In April I photographed Cathy Leff and Judith Clark for the New York Times style section. The pair opened a new fashion museum at the upscale Bal Harbour shops. The free museum currently showcases different fashion pieces including an airplane dress by Hussein Chalayan.

Last Monday I got a last minute phone call from New York Magazine’s “The Cut” blog. I was down for it without even knowing the subject. Once I found it was Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, the assignment took on quite a bit more gravity.

Tuesday came and we (Josh Ritchie and I) headed to Miami for the shoot. We photographed Sybrina in the Trayvon Martin Foundation offices at Florida Memorial University. I spent about 45 minutes photographing and felt that we’d covered a lot of ground. It was one of those time where I felt that photographically I was given a chance to put a face to the news. Hopefully there won’t be many more stories like hers.

I like beer. I like photographing beer related things. They were cool.

Angelo Bonati, CEO of Panerai Watches in Miami, FL at their new boutique location in the design district.

In August I photographed Pam Butler, a Ft. Lauderdale Yoga instructor and meditation instructor. We were given the opportunity to use the Auberge Center as a location (beautiful for sure) and contended with torrential rain.

I photographed the Urban Greenworks team back at the beginning of June. James and Robert were great, they let me have some fresh tropical fruit straight off the plants. I will say that getting two people to give me natural vibes in an image is hard, but giving them a banana and two round fruits and saying, “make each other laugh” solves the problem pretty easily.

Mr. Toro is an ex-DEA agent who is being left to die by the US government. Mr. Toro became an undercover agent after being caught for trafficking. After 25 years of service the DEA is threatening to no longer renew his visa and send him back home.

Link to the Article

Due to the nature of the situation I photographer Mr. Toro at his home and had his 1 bedroom apartment to shoot in. He was afraid of too much attention so we took portraits around the apartment and I tried not to hit too much furniture with light stands.

The flag was originally a reference to House of Cards, a ruthless government entity acting in it’s interest against someone who has served for 20+ years. After a bit of research I discovered that it means danger and imminent death. After talking with Mr. Toro about it he felt that it fit his situation perfectly due to fears of assassination.