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ruffdraft

Brandon Ruffin

Filmmaker | Photographer | Migration Patterns Top 10 photobooks 2025 - SmithsonianMag
@leica_camera 🔴
@apasanfrancisco
@camerasandcoffeeclub
@oak.spc

1.4K
posts
7.5K
followers
52.2K
following

Reclamation | The Leica ZM2 Monochrom

A meditation on time and intention with a focus on the art of a deliberate life. Shot entirely in monochrome, the film invites us to slow down, step away from distraction, and return to what feels meaningful. It is a meditation on presence and on reclaiming what may have been forgotten amid the constant pull for our attention.

Starring: @joshuaneall & @krisyim

Poem and VO by @alex_elle

Cinematography @aajayiiii

Produced by @xavier.rernard


4K
286
2 months ago


Steven Spielberg moments after his nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Theatrical Feature Film for the @directorsguild DGA Awards 2023. (Los Angeles, Ca -2023) #thefablemans#leicam11

Lighting Tech @iamshooter
Photo Assist @arthurgallery
Producer: @michaellatt


2K
102
3 years ago

Steven Spielberg moments after his nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Theatrical Feature Film for the @directorsguild DGA Awards 2023. (Los Angeles, Ca -2023) #thefablemans#leicam11

Lighting Tech @iamshooter
Photo Assist @arthurgallery
Producer: @michaellatt


2K
102
3 years ago

I am so incredibly excited to finally announce my debut book “Migration Patterns” with @setantabooks — pre-orders are officially available today.

Setanta Books has announced “Migration Patterns,” the debut book by San Francisco-born photographer Brandon Ruffin. The book explores the lasting influence of Southern Black culture in Bay Area cities like Oakland, San Francisco, and Richmond, stemming from the Great Migration.
As a descendant of Louisianans who moved west, Ruffin uses photography to reflect on how culture is carried on through legacy, memory, and ritual. The book, which includes a poem by Enjoli Flynn-Ruffin and an essay by @ogpenn Pendarvis Harshaw, serves as a lyrical meditation on migration, home, and lineage. It considers not only physical relocation but also the spiritual transitions between life and death.
Ultimately, “Migration Patterns” is a vital contribution to contemporary Black photography, documenting a cultural story with intimacy and care.

Link is in bio #migrationpatternsbook


2.1K
323
7 months ago

I am so incredibly excited to finally announce my debut book “Migration Patterns” with @setantabooks — pre-orders are officially available today.

Setanta Books has announced “Migration Patterns,” the debut book by San Francisco-born photographer Brandon Ruffin. The book explores the lasting influence of Southern Black culture in Bay Area cities like Oakland, San Francisco, and Richmond, stemming from the Great Migration.
As a descendant of Louisianans who moved west, Ruffin uses photography to reflect on how culture is carried on through legacy, memory, and ritual. The book, which includes a poem by Enjoli Flynn-Ruffin and an essay by @ogpenn Pendarvis Harshaw, serves as a lyrical meditation on migration, home, and lineage. It considers not only physical relocation but also the spiritual transitions between life and death.
Ultimately, “Migration Patterns” is a vital contribution to contemporary Black photography, documenting a cultural story with intimacy and care.

Link is in bio #migrationpatternsbook


2.1K
323
7 months ago

I am so incredibly excited to finally announce my debut book “Migration Patterns” with @setantabooks — pre-orders are officially available today.

Setanta Books has announced “Migration Patterns,” the debut book by San Francisco-born photographer Brandon Ruffin. The book explores the lasting influence of Southern Black culture in Bay Area cities like Oakland, San Francisco, and Richmond, stemming from the Great Migration.
As a descendant of Louisianans who moved west, Ruffin uses photography to reflect on how culture is carried on through legacy, memory, and ritual. The book, which includes a poem by Enjoli Flynn-Ruffin and an essay by @ogpenn Pendarvis Harshaw, serves as a lyrical meditation on migration, home, and lineage. It considers not only physical relocation but also the spiritual transitions between life and death.
Ultimately, “Migration Patterns” is a vital contribution to contemporary Black photography, documenting a cultural story with intimacy and care.

Link is in bio #migrationpatternsbook


2.1K
323
7 months ago

I am so incredibly excited to finally announce my debut book “Migration Patterns” with @setantabooks — pre-orders are officially available today.

Setanta Books has announced “Migration Patterns,” the debut book by San Francisco-born photographer Brandon Ruffin. The book explores the lasting influence of Southern Black culture in Bay Area cities like Oakland, San Francisco, and Richmond, stemming from the Great Migration.
As a descendant of Louisianans who moved west, Ruffin uses photography to reflect on how culture is carried on through legacy, memory, and ritual. The book, which includes a poem by Enjoli Flynn-Ruffin and an essay by @ogpenn Pendarvis Harshaw, serves as a lyrical meditation on migration, home, and lineage. It considers not only physical relocation but also the spiritual transitions between life and death.
Ultimately, “Migration Patterns” is a vital contribution to contemporary Black photography, documenting a cultural story with intimacy and care.

Link is in bio #migrationpatternsbook


2.1K
323
7 months ago

I am so incredibly excited to finally announce my debut book “Migration Patterns” with @setantabooks — pre-orders are officially available today.

Setanta Books has announced “Migration Patterns,” the debut book by San Francisco-born photographer Brandon Ruffin. The book explores the lasting influence of Southern Black culture in Bay Area cities like Oakland, San Francisco, and Richmond, stemming from the Great Migration.
As a descendant of Louisianans who moved west, Ruffin uses photography to reflect on how culture is carried on through legacy, memory, and ritual. The book, which includes a poem by Enjoli Flynn-Ruffin and an essay by @ogpenn Pendarvis Harshaw, serves as a lyrical meditation on migration, home, and lineage. It considers not only physical relocation but also the spiritual transitions between life and death.
Ultimately, “Migration Patterns” is a vital contribution to contemporary Black photography, documenting a cultural story with intimacy and care.

Link is in bio #migrationpatternsbook


2.1K
323
7 months ago


I am so incredibly excited to finally announce my debut book “Migration Patterns” with @setantabooks — pre-orders are officially available today.

Setanta Books has announced “Migration Patterns,” the debut book by San Francisco-born photographer Brandon Ruffin. The book explores the lasting influence of Southern Black culture in Bay Area cities like Oakland, San Francisco, and Richmond, stemming from the Great Migration.
As a descendant of Louisianans who moved west, Ruffin uses photography to reflect on how culture is carried on through legacy, memory, and ritual. The book, which includes a poem by Enjoli Flynn-Ruffin and an essay by @ogpenn Pendarvis Harshaw, serves as a lyrical meditation on migration, home, and lineage. It considers not only physical relocation but also the spiritual transitions between life and death.
Ultimately, “Migration Patterns” is a vital contribution to contemporary Black photography, documenting a cultural story with intimacy and care.

Link is in bio #migrationpatternsbook


2.1K
323
7 months ago

In a time
where exclaiming you are an artist
becomes more of an art form
than the art you are creating—
one must ask,
“What makes a thing “art”?”.
At this point,
I only want to make things
that make me feel.
I wish to exist in a superposition.
I wish to be both
in awe of the rarity of time
while also denying its existence.
Make me a particle,
make me a wave….
make me
and then unmake.
I just wish to feel.
Sometimes I want to feel loudly
and sometimes I want to feel
at the height of a whisper—
so quietly
it can hardly be measured.
If I am all things—-
then I must be no thing,
and to be nothing
sounds like the only freedom
that exists in the universe.


423
23
2 days ago

In a time
where exclaiming you are an artist
becomes more of an art form
than the art you are creating—
one must ask,
“What makes a thing “art”?”.
At this point,
I only want to make things
that make me feel.
I wish to exist in a superposition.
I wish to be both
in awe of the rarity of time
while also denying its existence.
Make me a particle,
make me a wave….
make me
and then unmake.
I just wish to feel.
Sometimes I want to feel loudly
and sometimes I want to feel
at the height of a whisper—
so quietly
it can hardly be measured.
If I am all things—-
then I must be no thing,
and to be nothing
sounds like the only freedom
that exists in the universe.


423
23
2 days ago

In a time
where exclaiming you are an artist
becomes more of an art form
than the art you are creating—
one must ask,
“What makes a thing “art”?”.
At this point,
I only want to make things
that make me feel.
I wish to exist in a superposition.
I wish to be both
in awe of the rarity of time
while also denying its existence.
Make me a particle,
make me a wave….
make me
and then unmake.
I just wish to feel.
Sometimes I want to feel loudly
and sometimes I want to feel
at the height of a whisper—
so quietly
it can hardly be measured.
If I am all things—-
then I must be no thing,
and to be nothing
sounds like the only freedom
that exists in the universe.


423
23
2 days ago

In a time
where exclaiming you are an artist
becomes more of an art form
than the art you are creating—
one must ask,
“What makes a thing “art”?”.
At this point,
I only want to make things
that make me feel.
I wish to exist in a superposition.
I wish to be both
in awe of the rarity of time
while also denying its existence.
Make me a particle,
make me a wave….
make me
and then unmake.
I just wish to feel.
Sometimes I want to feel loudly
and sometimes I want to feel
at the height of a whisper—
so quietly
it can hardly be measured.
If I am all things—-
then I must be no thing,
and to be nothing
sounds like the only freedom
that exists in the universe.


423
23
2 days ago

In a time
where exclaiming you are an artist
becomes more of an art form
than the art you are creating—
one must ask,
“What makes a thing “art”?”.
At this point,
I only want to make things
that make me feel.
I wish to exist in a superposition.
I wish to be both
in awe of the rarity of time
while also denying its existence.
Make me a particle,
make me a wave….
make me
and then unmake.
I just wish to feel.
Sometimes I want to feel loudly
and sometimes I want to feel
at the height of a whisper—
so quietly
it can hardly be measured.
If I am all things—-
then I must be no thing,
and to be nothing
sounds like the only freedom
that exists in the universe.


423
23
2 days ago

Some fun work with @renegade_running for the @nikerunning x @swarovski release. Always a good time with @leena_ds and @hey_miya


3
20
1 weeks ago


Some fun work with @renegade_running for the @nikerunning x @swarovski release. Always a good time with @leena_ds and @hey_miya


3
20
1 weeks ago

Some fun work with @renegade_running for the @nikerunning x @swarovski release. Always a good time with @leena_ds and @hey_miya


3
20
1 weeks ago

Some fun work with @renegade_running for the @nikerunning x @swarovski release. Always a good time with @leena_ds and @hey_miya


3
20
1 weeks ago

Some fun work with @renegade_running for the @nikerunning x @swarovski release. Always a good time with @leena_ds and @hey_miya


3
20
1 weeks ago

Some fun work with @renegade_running for the @nikerunning x @swarovski release. Always a good time with @leena_ds and @hey_miya


3
20
1 weeks ago

I love it for what it is and not what it could be.


3
37
1 weeks ago


I love it for what it is and not what it could be.


3
37
1 weeks ago

I love it for what it is and not what it could be.


3
37
1 weeks ago

I love it for what it is and not what it could be.


3
37
1 weeks ago

The only new variable we bring to this equation called existence is ourselves.

@clara.rene
#leicaM


3
7
2 weeks ago

The only new variable we bring to this equation called existence is ourselves.

@clara.rene
#leicaM


3
7
2 weeks ago

Really beautiful to see the distance this work has traveled. Like the people, the stories, and the culture explored in this body of work, Migration Patterns finds a new home in Washington. Today at 2pm we will showing be the this work at @leicastorebellevue —can’t wait!! Copies of my debut book, Migration Patterns, will be available and signed at the gallery during today’s opening.


445
18
3 weeks ago

Really beautiful to see the distance this work has traveled. Like the people, the stories, and the culture explored in this body of work, Migration Patterns finds a new home in Washington. Today at 2pm we will showing be the this work at @leicastorebellevue —can’t wait!! Copies of my debut book, Migration Patterns, will be available and signed at the gallery during today’s opening.


445
18
3 weeks ago

Really beautiful to see the distance this work has traveled. Like the people, the stories, and the culture explored in this body of work, Migration Patterns finds a new home in Washington. Today at 2pm we will showing be the this work at @leicastorebellevue —can’t wait!! Copies of my debut book, Migration Patterns, will be available and signed at the gallery during today’s opening.


445
18
3 weeks ago

Really beautiful to see the distance this work has traveled. Like the people, the stories, and the culture explored in this body of work, Migration Patterns finds a new home in Washington. Today at 2pm we will showing be the this work at @leicastorebellevue —can’t wait!! Copies of my debut book, Migration Patterns, will be available and signed at the gallery during today’s opening.


445
18
3 weeks ago

Really beautiful to see the distance this work has traveled. Like the people, the stories, and the culture explored in this body of work, Migration Patterns finds a new home in Washington. Today at 2pm we will showing be the this work at @leicastorebellevue —can’t wait!! Copies of my debut book, Migration Patterns, will be available and signed at the gallery during today’s opening.


445
18
3 weeks ago

Home of the brave. #leicam3 #50mmsummicron


625
39
1 months ago

Home of the brave. #leicam3 #50mmsummicron


625
39
1 months ago

Home of the brave. #leicam3 #50mmsummicron


625
39
1 months ago

Home of the brave. #leicam3 #50mmsummicron


625
39
1 months ago

Home of the brave. #leicam3 #50mmsummicron


625
39
1 months ago

Home of the brave. #leicam3 #50mmsummicron


625
39
1 months ago

Home of the brave. #leicam3 #50mmsummicron


625
39
1 months ago

Home of the brave. #leicam3 #50mmsummicron


625
39
1 months ago

Home of the brave. #leicam3 #50mmsummicron


625
39
1 months ago

What does poetry look like?

I want to find it in everything I see—to feel it, to breathe it. If I cannot create it, then I choose not to create.

A world without poetry does not spin. Even if I cannot write the words, I still want to feel them in my soul: in my life, in my connection to the world, in the way I describe a sunrise or a heartbreak.

To live is to be submerged in the painfully visceral—but life is often so literal.

Without that layer of abstraction, without symmetry or purpose... I might find it all to be indeed too unbearable.


673
27
1 months ago

What does poetry look like?

I want to find it in everything I see—to feel it, to breathe it. If I cannot create it, then I choose not to create.

A world without poetry does not spin. Even if I cannot write the words, I still want to feel them in my soul: in my life, in my connection to the world, in the way I describe a sunrise or a heartbreak.

To live is to be submerged in the painfully visceral—but life is often so literal.

Without that layer of abstraction, without symmetry or purpose... I might find it all to be indeed too unbearable.


673
27
1 months ago

What does poetry look like?

I want to find it in everything I see—to feel it, to breathe it. If I cannot create it, then I choose not to create.

A world without poetry does not spin. Even if I cannot write the words, I still want to feel them in my soul: in my life, in my connection to the world, in the way I describe a sunrise or a heartbreak.

To live is to be submerged in the painfully visceral—but life is often so literal.

Without that layer of abstraction, without symmetry or purpose... I might find it all to be indeed too unbearable.


673
27
1 months ago

Your heart is the only scale upon which you can truly weigh success in any medium.

I used to imagine triumph through the eyes of a child. I envisioned the loud markers of arrival: the intoxicating pull of being known, a studio loft breathing in New York or Paris, the quiet reverence of collectors, my life’s work hanging on a gallery wall.

Now, the metric has changed.
I measure success by the precision of my authenticity—my ability to catch a fleeting idea or a heavy emotion and render it as clearly and truly as possible.

It is the courage to sit within my feelings and let them speak. To express them with truth—my truth. With love—my love.

To pour out my pain and offer up my soul.
Ultimately, I measure success by my relentless commitment to the excavation.

It is the act of examining my spirit, pulling it from my chest, and laying it bare on display. Over and over again.

Because the process, in all its raw vulnerability, is what completes me.

📷 slide 1 and 4 @aajayiiii


1.1K
31
1 months ago

Your heart is the only scale upon which you can truly weigh success in any medium.

I used to imagine triumph through the eyes of a child. I envisioned the loud markers of arrival: the intoxicating pull of being known, a studio loft breathing in New York or Paris, the quiet reverence of collectors, my life’s work hanging on a gallery wall.

Now, the metric has changed.
I measure success by the precision of my authenticity—my ability to catch a fleeting idea or a heavy emotion and render it as clearly and truly as possible.

It is the courage to sit within my feelings and let them speak. To express them with truth—my truth. With love—my love.

To pour out my pain and offer up my soul.
Ultimately, I measure success by my relentless commitment to the excavation.

It is the act of examining my spirit, pulling it from my chest, and laying it bare on display. Over and over again.

Because the process, in all its raw vulnerability, is what completes me.

📷 slide 1 and 4 @aajayiiii


1.1K
31
1 months ago

Your heart is the only scale upon which you can truly weigh success in any medium.

I used to imagine triumph through the eyes of a child. I envisioned the loud markers of arrival: the intoxicating pull of being known, a studio loft breathing in New York or Paris, the quiet reverence of collectors, my life’s work hanging on a gallery wall.

Now, the metric has changed.
I measure success by the precision of my authenticity—my ability to catch a fleeting idea or a heavy emotion and render it as clearly and truly as possible.

It is the courage to sit within my feelings and let them speak. To express them with truth—my truth. With love—my love.

To pour out my pain and offer up my soul.
Ultimately, I measure success by my relentless commitment to the excavation.

It is the act of examining my spirit, pulling it from my chest, and laying it bare on display. Over and over again.

Because the process, in all its raw vulnerability, is what completes me.

📷 slide 1 and 4 @aajayiiii


1.1K
31
1 months ago

Your heart is the only scale upon which you can truly weigh success in any medium.

I used to imagine triumph through the eyes of a child. I envisioned the loud markers of arrival: the intoxicating pull of being known, a studio loft breathing in New York or Paris, the quiet reverence of collectors, my life’s work hanging on a gallery wall.

Now, the metric has changed.
I measure success by the precision of my authenticity—my ability to catch a fleeting idea or a heavy emotion and render it as clearly and truly as possible.

It is the courage to sit within my feelings and let them speak. To express them with truth—my truth. With love—my love.

To pour out my pain and offer up my soul.
Ultimately, I measure success by my relentless commitment to the excavation.

It is the act of examining my spirit, pulling it from my chest, and laying it bare on display. Over and over again.

Because the process, in all its raw vulnerability, is what completes me.

📷 slide 1 and 4 @aajayiiii


1.1K
31
1 months ago

Latest work for @toddsnyderny with the amazing @sirmichaelwayne filmed on the #LeicaSL3

Director: @ruffdraft
Styling/wardrobe: @sirmichaelwayne
Editor: Brando Ruffin
Sound: Brandon Ruffin
Color: Brandon Ruffin
Producer: Olivia Kirby


3
20
1 months ago


Story Save - Công cụ miễn phí tốt nhất để lưu Câu Chuyện, Reels, Ảnh, Video, Highlights, IGTV về điện thoại của bạn.

Story-save.com là công cụ trực tuyến dễ sử dụng giúp người dùng tải về và lưu trữ nhiều loại nội dung, bao gồm câu chuyện, ảnh, video và các tài liệu IGTV từ Instagram. Với Story-Save, bạn không chỉ dễ dàng tải về nhiều nội dung từ Instagram mà còn có thể xem lại bất cứ lúc nào, ngay cả khi không có kết nối internet. Công cụ này lý tưởng cho những lúc bạn gặp những nội dung thú vị trên Instagram và muốn lưu lại để xem sau. Hãy sử dụng Story-Save để không bỏ lỡ cơ hội lưu giữ những khoảnh khắc Instagram yêu thích của mình!

Lợi ích của chúng tôi:

Không cần đăng ký

Tránh tải ứng dụng và đăng ký, lưu trữ câu chuyện trực tuyến.

Chất lượng cao độc quyền

Câu chuyện Hãy tạm biệt nội dung chất lượng kém, chỉ lưu trữ những câu chuyện độ phân giải cao.

Có thể truy cập trên tất cả các thiết bị

Tải xuống Câu Chuyện Instagram bằng bất kỳ trình duyệt nào, iPhone, Android.

Hoàn toàn miễn phí

Hoàn toàn không có phí. Tải xuống bất kỳ câu chuyện nào mà không tốn tiền.

Câu hỏi thường gặp

Tính năng Tải Câu Chuyện Instagram được thiết kế để cung cấp phương pháp an toàn và chất lượng cao để tải các câu chuyện Instagram. Nó dễ sử dụng và không yêu cầu người dùng đăng ký hoặc đăng nhập. Chỉ cần sao chép liên kết, dán vào và thưởng thức nội dung.
Tải câu chuyện Instagram là một quá trình đơn giản bao gồm ba bước:
  • 1. Truy cập công cụ Tải Câu Chuyện Instagram.
  • 2. Tiếp theo, nhập tên người dùng của hồ sơ Instagram vào ô đã cung cấp và nhấn nút Tải về.
  • 3. Bạn sẽ thấy tất cả các câu chuyện có sẵn trong vòng 24 giờ. Chọn những câu chuyện bạn muốn và nhấn Tải về.
Câu chuyện được chọn sẽ nhanh chóng được lưu vào bộ nhớ của thiết bị bạn.
Rất tiếc, không thể tải câu chuyện từ tài khoản riêng tư vì các hạn chế về quyền riêng tư.
Không có giới hạn số lần bạn có thể sử dụng dịch vụ tải câu chuyện Instagram. Nó có sẵn để sử dụng không giới hạn và hoàn toàn miễn phí.
Có, việc tải và lưu Câu Chuyện Instagram từ người khác là hợp pháp, miễn là không sử dụng cho mục đích thương mại. Nếu bạn định sử dụng chúng cho mục đích thương mại, bạn phải xin phép chủ sở hữu nội dung gốc và ghi công cho họ mỗi khi sử dụng câu chuyện.
Tất cả các câu chuyện đã tải về thường được lưu trong thư mục Tải về trên máy tính của bạn, dù bạn đang sử dụng Windows, Mac hay iOS. Đối với các thiết bị di động, câu chuyện được lưu trong bộ nhớ điện thoại và sẽ hiển thị trong ứng dụng Thư viện ngay sau khi tải về.