About Bryan

Photo of Bryan and Nez by: Skeleton Key Equine

Bryan Steiff is a fine artist who works and lives in Santa Fe, NM. After becoming captivated with photography as an adolescent, Steiff earned both a BFA (The Ohio State University) and an MFA (Columbia College Chicago) in photography. He has been in relationship with the medium for more than 35 years: producing his own art work, working commercially, and as a college professor. After graduate school, Steiff spent twelve years teaching photography at Columbia College Chicago and Loyola University, while also working with middle school and high school students in the Laboratory School at the University of Chicago. Here, Steiff was both a darkroom tutor and an artist in residence. In 2015, he left Chicago and academia for life in New Mexico to produce his own fine art work, which primarily addresses the land, technology, and how we create the world around us. His work has earned him grants and awards, and been exhibited and published throughout the United States.

Steiff’s love of horses began in rural Ohio, at the age of four, with a gentle pinto named Dinah. He spent childhood summers attending Ranch Camp at YMCA Camp Wilson, riding and caring for a big chestnut gelding named Major. After returning to the equine world in New Mexico, he decided to launch Helios and combine his passion for horses with his art practice. Helios Equine Photography delivers exemplary photographic services to the equine community. Steiff combines decades of photographic experience and knowledge with a deep compassion for animals of all kinds, but specializes in making stunning photographs that capture the equine spirit, and the complex and unique relationships between horses and their people.

Spending time with horses still makes him feel like a wide-eyed four-year old.