Bryan Formhals

Bryan Formhals (born October 18, 1976)^[1] is an American photographer and editor, based in New York City. He co-edited the book Photographers' Sketchbooks (2014).^[2]

Life and work

Formhals was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota.^[1][3] He earned a degree in communication and journalism at nearby Saint John's University, Collegeville in 1999.^[1] He moved to Minneapolis and got a job working for a web company, transferring west to Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California in 2004.^[1][3][4] In LA he took a class at The Second City doing improvisational comedy and wrote a screenplay.^[1] In 2005, unhappy with his screenplay and experiencing writer's block, he began taking photographs while walking around Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles.^[1][5][6] This resulted in the series Genesee Ave.^[7] In 2009 he moved east to New York City, first to Greenpoint, Brooklyn and then in 2012 to Astoria, Queens.^[3]

In 2010 Wired highlighted Formhals as one of its "Favorite Photobloggers" for his blog La Pura Vida.^[8] He founded and was managing editor of LPV Magazine,^[9][10] curating documentary and fine-art photography^[11] in print for 7 issues between 2011 and 2013 and on the web.^[1] Time included Formhals' LPV Magazine Twitter feed in its "140 Best Twitter Feeds of 2013".^[11] In 2015/2016 he was host and co-creator, with Tom Starkweather and Eddy Vallante, of The LPV Show,^[12] a conversational podcast about photography books. LPV Show guests included Khalik Allah, Mathieu Asselin, Richard Bram, Noah Kalina, Susan Meiselas, Greg Miller, Elle Pérez, Gus Powell, Ken Schles and Rachel Sussman.^[13] In 2014, Formhals and Stephen McLaren co-edited Photographers' Sketchbooks, described in The Independent as a "meticulously researched book [that] offers a fascinating insight into the work and methods of more than 50 photographers."^[14]

Formhals is currently focused on "walking, pedestrian infrastructure, and urban greenery" in New York City through photography, a weekly newsletter, and a conversational podcast made with Starkweather called Way of the Walk.^[3][15]

He has earned a living as content strategist and managing the social media team at B&H Photo,^[1] and as senior content marketing manager at Shutterstock^[16] and Adorama.^[17]

Publications edited by Formhals

• Photographers' Sketchbooks. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2014. Co-edited and with essays by Formhals and Stephen McLaren. ISBN 978-0500544341.^[18][19]

Exhibitions

• Common Ground: New American Street Photography, New Orleans Photo Alliance Gallery, New Orleans, February–March 2013;^[20] drkrm, Los Angeles, July 2013.^[21][22] Curated by Stephen McLaren. With work by Blake Andrews, Richard Bram, Formhals, Chuck Patch and Jack Simon.