We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rick Rusch a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Rick, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

During the COVID-19 2020 lockdown, I made a decision it was time to move forward by changing my direction with my photography. Up until this time, I was a freelance photographer skilled in editorial and lifestyle photography.

Several years prior to 2020, I started a blog telling stories about people who made a difference in life in words with photos.

In 2020 I decided it was time to be freer in my life by selling my house of 20-plus years, plus I sold most of my belongings. Since then I haven’t bought or rented a place to live. I live freely staying here or there.

This freedom gave me the opportunity to capture stories about humanity, traveling first to South Africa, parts of the United States to Mexico.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My focus is to travel and help people in need. Whether it is through my photography, writing stories about people, or supporting people and communities in whatever their needs may be. I am passionate about collaborating with volunteer and humanitarian activities to drive outreach.

Since I sold my house I have been supporting humanitarian organizations and nonprofit organizations, supporting fundraising needs by documenting stories in photographs, and in stories. The goal is to provide charities with professional photographs that were used to raise awareness about community issues and assist in fundraising.

Also, I have volunteered skills in photography to assist in developing African communities by having professional photographs documenting community support.

What I am most proud of are the people who live life on a daily basis, supporting humanitarian needs. That is my goal, to live this life daily.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

This question hits me hard. It is difficult to find funding for my travels to wander and to travel this planet in search of truth for me to share for all to see.

Humanitarian organizations and NPOs look for volunteers to support their needs by having the photographer/journalist pay for their own expenses.

This limits me to move forward in my passion. It would be nice to have an organization fund people willing to support humanity.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Since I was a young boy I always had a sense of purpose and I see the beauty in life that maybe many do not see. As I grew older my purpose became stronger, stronger to the point that I sold my belongings and house to be free to live where I need to be.

When I was a little boy when I received my first point-and-shoot camera from Santa, I started seeing life from a different perspective. I remember one time, only days after Christmas my family and I went to the Science Museum in Buffalo, NY. It was a cold and snowy day. After we left the building on our way to the parking lot, there was a stonewall, dark gray, at least 60 years old, with rod iron spikes on the top of the wall. I remember looking up and seeing a dark and gray sky, snow, and ice on top of the rod iron, with the limbs of the tree overshadowing the wall, covered in ice. I thought it was beautiful. There was a peace and grace to this look that I saw.

Almost everything I see in my daily life is a picture. What I see on a daily basis is all about art and life in the form of a picture. I wish to capture only the beauty of life and to give others a sense of the best that this world can offer.

In my mission statement on my portfolio/resume, I state: My portfolio isn’t just about what I do, nor is my life more than just one thing. My life is a portfolio of activities that make me who I am. I am diverse in what I have done in my professional and in my personal life.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rickrusch.com
• Instagram: @rick.rusch
• Facebook: Rick C Rusch

Image Credits
I am the photographer of these photos. The Credits are in the title of each picture.