Ryan Lobo was born in 1973 in Bangalore. After a Bachelors degree in Science he left for the US in 1996 to do a Master’s degree in Cell Biology. Towards the end of his course, post an autumn afternoons musing, Ryan returned to India and with a friend set up an advertising agency called Opus CDM. In 2000, Ryan co-founded Mad Monitor Productions, a film and photo production company. Ryan has traveled the planet shooting, producing and managing more than 70 films to date on subjects ranging from Papua New Guinean tribal initiation rites and maximum security prisons to the culinary enjoyments’ of Anglo Indians.

His films have aired on the National Geographic Channel, Animal Planet, The Oprah Winfrey Show and PBS among other networks.

During the process of film making Ryan found his still photography almost compulsive and felt his photographs often told a better story, than the film itself. He feels that photography allows him greater fulfillment, artistic integrity and timelessness and endeavors that it gives voice to people and stories without.

For the last decade his photographs have been featured in magazines like Tehelka, Outlook Traveler, Marie Claire, Elle, The Wall Street Journal, Geo, Time Out, The Boston review, Chimurenga, The Caravan, Onzeweruld and Bidoun magazine among others. His art prints have been exhibited all over India. He joined Tasveer in 2006.

In 2009, Ryan shared his photographs and his ideas on “compassionate storytelling” at the TED conference, to a standing ovation.