My first camera wasn’t part of a class or a planned hobby—it was an impulse buy at a pawn shop during my freshman year at community college. A Canon Rebel G with a kit lens, sitting there like it was waiting for me. I remember going back a couple of times, scraping together $190 until I could finally take it home.

I came to photography a little later than most.

child ruwan old photograph

It was a film camera, but I didn’t start with the typical black-and-white or standard print film. I dove straight into slide film. Growing up in Sri Lanka, slide shows were more common in my family than trips to the movies. Visits to my grandfather’s house meant setting up the projector, carefully loading slides into the carousel—upside down, label facing the lamp—and watching larger-than-life images projected onto a bedsheet. It was magical. Slide film just felt right.

Plus, seeing your photos blown up six or seven feet wide? Yeah, size matters.

My family’s always had this itch to explore. Weekend road trips were a regular thing, often with only a vague plan. We’d end up sleeping on the floor of a Buddhist temple or a church pew, wherever the journey took us. I came back to school with stories that made my friends’ jaws drop. As a kid, I dreamed of being a tour guide—I wanted to share the amazing places I’d seen with the world.

family old photograph

Fast forward to college:

old photograph of people on boat

I figured if I wanted to share the world,
I should actually understand it.

So, I majored in Environmental Science. Along the way, I discovered I could take photography classes. What better way to share the world than to show it through photos? Those childhood slide shows definitely planted a seed. But why stop at just showing pictures? I realized I could teach others to take their own, helping them share their stories, too.

ruwan river site photoshoot

Somewhere along the way, the plan took a detour.
I took a year off during undergrad to volunteer as a high school teacher in Pohnpei, a tiny island in Micronesia. That unexpected turn led me to a 15-year career as a middle school science teacher.

  • So, did I end up helping people discover the world? Check.

  • Photography? Still there, just on the side.

ruwan field photoshoot

But it was time for a reset.

The 2023-2024 school year was my last as an 8th-grade science teacher. Teaching will always be part of who I am, but in January 2025, my partner Diana and I launched Ruwan and Diana Photography. The past six months have been a crash course in business, courtesy of YouTube University. I swear I’ve learned more in this short time than I ever did in college.

Now that you know my story, I want to invite you to join the adventure.

Let’s go explore the world—you find the places, I’ll capture the moments.

Ready for an adventure? Let’s go!

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