Ryan Kost

Be Curious. Be Compassionate. Photography allows me to listen. The world has so much to say.

“Instead of insight, maybe all a man gets is strength to wander for a while. Maybe the only gift is a chance to inquire, to know nothing for certain. An inheritance of wonder and nothing more.” ― William Least Heat Moon, Blue Highways

In my formative years, you'd often find me buried in cultural magazines with an unimaginable sense of curiosity. The images captivated my very core, and my spirit danced with insatiable wonder. My table mat, shower curtain and bedroom wallpaper were all world maps. Often, I would close my eyes, spin a globe and abruptly stop it with my finger. Wherever it ended up, I would fastidiously go on a research binge trying to humanize and understand these 'distant' places. I was drawn to cultures who seemingly harmoniously lived with nature and truly embodied ideas of community. I aspired to be more like them. I would run around outside all day barefoot, build rudimentary forts, climb trees, and with unbridled determination trying to connect with nature around me.

Fast forward 25 or so years, and here I am, 36 years old living in Arvada, Colorado. Many of my dreams have come true, and I have a conscious recognition of my privilege. I have been working as an Outdoor Guide and Experiential Educator for the past 10+ years. With unwavering love and support from my parents, I have been shown the world. I have lived, worked, traveled and studied in 60+ countries. I have led over 50 trips in Peru ranging from leading blind students to over 17,500 feet in the Andes for No Barriers, to teaching Cultural Anthropology for National Geographic Student Expeditions and instructing Semester programs for the visionary company Where There Be Dragons. I now co-own a guiding company called Adventure Heart Peru and do contract guiding for the esteemed Wilderness Travel.

I received a Master’s in Socio-Cultural Anthropology studying notions of identity and religious hybridity in the Peruvian Andes. I have fostered incredibly special relationships with people around the world who grew up vastly different than I did. They have shaped my perspectives and left an indelible sense of compassion deep in my soul. Just as I did as a little kid, I still look up to those who are unequivocally intertwined with the earth and have persevered through true adversity with a sense of dignity and generosity that is utterly remarkable and admirable. I want to give back the best way I know how. Indelibly, imagery has always impacted me in profound ways.

My irrepressible eagerness to share my passions has found its home behind the lens and through storytelling. Photography allows me to listen. I become a student of the world. It has allowed me to humanize connections to landscapes and other cultures. Our planet is vast, but we all share it together. We all have stories; we are all curious. We all connect with the dirt beneath our feet and should expect a certain sense of dignity and compassion. I hope to cultivate meaning beyond just a pretty picture. When that relationship is established, it sparks dialogue, it taps into a visceral sense of wonder, and it promotes awareness for our incredibly diverse cultures and landscapes.

We slow down, we observe, we listen, we engage; we strive to leave this little sphere we all call home a better and more equitable place.

“My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport.” — Steve McCurry