Frank Relle is no stranger to adventure. As will become obvious as you listen to Frank’s interview, he is so well acquainted because he finds comfort in the face of risks others seek to avoid. For example, after reading a book about sailing the open seas for little to no money (and no experience sailing), Frank headed to the docks and talked his way onto a boat leaving that day, only to find out mid-trip that no one on the boat had any significant sailing experience. The story of Frank’s days at sea is one of many. It is no surprise then that when Frank took up photography in earnest, the project that first brought him acclaim required him to move about in post-Katrina New Orleans in the darkest hours of the night. It should also be no surprise that as a result of Frank’s unique combination of guts and creative genius his work has been featured in The Smithsonian Museum of American History, the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and in the private collections of Wynton Marsalis, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Ellen DeGeneres, Drew Brees, Sheryl Crow and Kanye West. Nowadays, if Frank is not at his gallery in the French Quarter (910 Royal Street), he’s probably waist deep in the swamps of Southeast Louisiana, competing with gators for turf as he sets up his camera to shoot for his current project, “Until the Water.”

Until you can make it to Royal Street, you can check out Frank’s work at www.frankrelle.com, on IG @frankrelle, and Facebook at Frank Relle Photography.