ABOUT
EXHIBITIONS
AWARDS
PUBLICATIONS
COLLECTIONS
REPRESENTATIONS
Stephen Rauch is a photographer based in Washington, United States. His work explores the relationship between people, place, and the passage of time through street, documentary, wildlife, and landscape photography. Drawn to authentic moments and quiet observation, he creates photographs that reveal the beauty, resilience, and complexity of life and the human experience.
My Story
My fascination with the world began long before I picked up a camera. As a child, visits to my grandfathers’ home often found me lying on the living room floor, immersed in stacks of National Geographic magazines while my family gathered around the kitchen table for spirited penny card games. Those pages introduced me to distant cultures, remarkable landscapes, and lives far beyond my own, sparking a curiosity that has never left me.
That curiosity grew through countless childhood adventures exploring my neighborhood by bicycle and family road trips across the United States. Each journey revealed that every place has its own character, shaped by its people, traditions, and stories.
Years later, while traveling for work, I purchased my first camera. Business trips throughout Europe and Asia transformed photography from a way of preserving memories into a way of seeing. The camera encouraged me to slow down, observe more carefully, and appreciate the fleeting moments that often go unnoticed. Even today, a single photograph can instantly transport me back to a place—the atmosphere, the conversations, the light, and even the scents that filled the air.
Photographing the Human Experience
Today, my work extends beyond documenting where I've been. I create photographic series that explore the relationship between people, place, and the passage of time. Whether wandering the streets of a city, photographing wildlife in its natural habitat, or standing before a quiet landscape, I look for moments that reveal something genuine about the world around us.
My photographs are an invitation to pause and look more closely—to discover beauty in the ordinary, connection across cultures, and the shared experiences that unite us. My hope is that these images continue to resonate long after they are viewed, serving not only as records of a moment in time but as enduring reflections of our common humanity.
2026 / Collective - International Street Photography Exhibition & Competition - The Lab on Santa Fe - Denver, CO, USA (Juried by Andrea Dratch, Jeff Tidwell, Josh Berkowitz and Benjamin Hernandez)
2026 / Collective - Camera Work: Shadow and Light -Black Box Gallery - Portland, OR, USA (Juried by Todd Johnson)
2026 / Collective - Black and White - Praxis Gallery - Minneapolis, MN, USA (Juried by Sandrine Hermand-Grisel)
2026 / Collective - Tokyo International Foto Awards - 2025 Winners Exhibition - Le Deco, Tokyo, Japan
2025 / Collective - Water ~ Sea - Praxis Gallery (Curated by Praxis Directors - Honorable Mention) Minneapolis, MN, USA
2025 / Collective - Landscapes - Praxis Gallery - Minneapolis, MN, USA (Juried by Sandrine Hermand-Grisel)
2024 / Collective - Street Photography (“The Streets of New York Series’) - The Street Soup, Milano, Italy
2026
URBAN 2026 PHOTO AWARDS - 2026
Category: Streets - Five Photographs “Selected Photographs” (link)
Category: Spaces - Three Photographs “Selected Photographs” (link)
INTERNATIONAL STREET PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION & COMPETITION (THE LAB ON SANTA FE IN DENVER) - 2026
Two Photographs Selected for an Exhibition of 24 Photographs (link)
BLACK BOX GALLERY CAMERA WORK: SHADOW AND LIGHT - 2026
One Photograph Selected for an Exhibition of 15 Photographs (link)
PRAXIS GALLERY BLACK & WHITE COMPETITION - 2026
Two Photographs Selected for an Exhibition of 74 Photographs (link)
2025
INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS (IPA) - 2025
Category: Book / Self Published - 2nd Place (link)
PX3 - PRIX DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE, PARIS - 2025
Category: Book - Gold (1st Place) (link)
Category: Nature / Panoramic - Silver (2nd Place) (link)
Category: Special / Macro Photography - Silver (2nd Place) (link)
Category: Fine Art / Landscape - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Nature / Wildlife - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Nature / Wildlife - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Fine Art / Abstract - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Fine Art / Minimalism - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Portraiture / Children - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Abstract - Honorable Mention (link)
PX3 STATE OF THE WORLD AWARDS (IPA) - 2025
Short List (link)
NEUTRAL DENSITY (ND) AWARDS - 2025
Category: Nature / Seascapes / Waterscapes - 1st Place (link)
Category: Nature / Seascapes / Waterscapes - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Nature / Landscapes - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Special / Panoramic - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: People / Travel / Culture - Honorable Mention (link)
REFOCUS COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS - 2025
Category: Minimalism - Honorable Mention (link)
REFOCUS WORLD PHOTO ANNUAL AWARDS - 2025
Category: Fine Art - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Abstract - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Event - Honorable Mention (link)
EXPOSURE ONE AWARDS: ONE SHOT PHOTO - 2025
Category: Ariel - 3rd Place (link)
Category: Minimalism - 3rd Place (link)
EXPOSURE ONE AWARDS: COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS - 2025
Category: Abstract - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Minimalism - Honorable Mention (link)
MONOVISIONS BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS - 2025
Category: Landscape - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Landscape - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Landscape - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Abstract - Honorable Mention (link)
MONOCHROME BLACK AND WHITE AWARDS - 2025
Category: Fine Art - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Abstract - Honorable Mention (link)
TOKYO FOTO AWARDS - 2025
Category: Special Categories / Macro - Bronze (3rd Place) (link)
Category: People / Children - Bronze (3rd Place) (link)
Category: People / Event - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Abstract - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Street Photography - Honorable Mention (link)
2024
PX3 - PRIX DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE, PARIS - 2024
Category: Fine Art / Landscape - Gold (1st Place) (link)
PARIS INTERNATIONAL STREET PHOTO AWARDS (PISPA) - 2024
Category: Urbex & Minimalism - 3rd Place (link)
INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS (IPA) - 2024
Category: Fine Art / Landscape - Jury Top 5, Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Special / Travel / Wanderlust - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Nature / Wildlife - Honorable Mention (link)
NEUTRAL DENSITY (ND) AWARDS - 2024
Category: Nature - Seascapes / Waterscapes - Honorable Mention (link)
MONOCHROME AWARDS - 2024
Category: Fine Art - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Fine Art - Honorable Mention (link)
Category: Wildlife - Honorable Mention (link)
2011
INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS (IPA) - 2011
Category: People / Lifestyle - Honorable Mention
Category: Architecture / Historical - Honorable Mention
2026 / Dodho Magazine - Feature Artist: ‘Through the Glass America by Rail’
2025 / ALL ABOUT PHOTO Magazine Issue #50 - Shapes: Series “At Sea on Deck 9“
2025 / ALL ABOUT PHOTO Rising Photographers
2008 / Photographer’s Forum Magazine 28th Annual Photography Contest: “First Place” in the “Fine Art - Landscape” category: “Joshua Tree in Death Valley”
2007 - Microsoft Art Collection: Photograph titled “Reflecting Rocks”, Washington State, 36 x 24, Limited Edition 1/3
2007 - Microsoft Art Collection: Photograph titled “Running Fence”, Idaho State, 30 x 45, Limited Edition 1/3
2026 Circle Foundation for the Arts, Paris France