Rusty Costanza is a photographer living with ALS in Louisiana. An exhibit of his photos documenting his life with ALS, Love in the Face of ALS: A Photographic Journey, is currently on display at the St. Tammany Art Association Gallery in Covington, LA, through May 27, 2026. Read on to learn more about the story behind Rusty’s life and art.
In some ways, being a professional sports photographer can be as physically challenging a pursuit as being on the field. In his former career as a photojournalist, Rusty Costanza would haul more than 50 pounds of camera gear to the sidelines of football fields, baseball diamonds, and basketball courts. He’d need to move quickly at times—dodging flying balls and players if they came out of bounds in his direction.
That all changed on February 6th, 2025, when Rusty learned that he had ALS. He had been experiencing slowly progressing symptoms of the disease as far back as 2010. When he finally received his diagnosis after 15 years, he decided to retire as a professional photographer to spend more time with his family and friends. However, he was determined to find some way to continue pursuing the art form that had defined his life’s work.
Adapting to Life as a Photographer with ALS
“After my diagnosis, I still had the urge to take pictures,” he says. “I’d been doing it for 50 years or so—since I was 12. My mom has pictures of me with a camera in my hand at three years old. Photography is integral to me. It's my core identity. It's my existence.”
To adapt to his new physical limitations, Rusty replaced his big, heavy cameras and telephoto lenses with a simpler, smaller model. He also moved on to a new subject matter—documenting intimate moments of his day-to-day life with ALS.
“At first, I was just planning to shoot whatever came to mind,” he says. “I started shooting pictures in the rear view mirrors of cars because I was in the passenger seat all the time. I joked with a friend of mine that I was going to turn it into a series. But it turned out I was just shooting a lot of pictures of my friends.”
Documenting Life with ALS
Soon, it dawned on Rusty that there was a theme running through the pictures he was taking—the community that had come together to support him after his diagnosis.
“When you're first diagnosed with ALS, you don't think about how it affects everyone around you,” he says, “but then you realize that it's not just your diagnosis, it's your family's diagnosis and your friends’ diagnosis—that whole group that comes together and takes care of you. I realized how meaningful it was that my friends and family were going out of their way to do these things for me.”
Eventually, Rusty found that he had amassed a collection of images that told an important story, and he decided he wanted to share it with the world. At first, he thought he might find a coffee shop that would hang some of his photos. However, Rusty’s friend and former photo editor, Andrew Boyd, thought his work deserved to be shown in a more impactful space. He stepped in and pitched Rusty’s project to the St. Tammany Art Association, an art gallery in Covington, Louisiana.
Love in the Face of ALS: A Photographic Journey
Rusty’s exhibit, titled Love in the Face of ALS: A Photographic Journey, opened on April 11, 2026, and runs through May 27. On display are a selection of photos from throughout Rusty’s ALS journey—intimate images of hospital visits, physical therapy sessions, blood draws, and, most prominently, of the family and friends who came to visit him and pitch in with his care.
“Before the gallery exhibit opened, I told friends and family I was excited and terrified,” says Rusty. “I meant it. I was excited to share the photos, but terrified that the photos would not connect with others. During the opening weekend, I learned how wrong I was to be terrified. The response was incredible.”
Sharing his work with his friends, family, and community has been an emotional experience for Rusty. However, he says that one night in particular stands out—when, on May 16th, he returned to the gallery for a special evening just for local people with ALS.
“As May 16th grew near, I was very excited to go to the gallery with several other ALS patients,” he says. “Their positive response meant the world to me. They know what living with ALS is all about, and the photos connected on a deep level. We all went out for lunch as a group after the visit, and now I have many new friends. I couldn't have asked for more.”
Some of the photos in the show document Rusty’s participation in the ALS Research Collaborative (ARC) Study—a global initiative led by the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI). Through the ARC Study, people with ALS share their lived experience to advance ALS research. As an ARC participant, Rusty provides ALS TDI with data about his disease by filling out surveys, wearing accelerometers to track his movements, and giving regular blood samples.
“When you're first diagnosed with ALS, you can go down into a dark place,” says Rusty, “But I don't want to spend my remaining days upset or angry that I have ALS, or depressed over what I can't do any longer. By participating in ARC, I feel like I’m doing something positive. Whatever I can do to help find a cure, whether it’s filling out surveys or getting my blood drawn every three months, I'm willing to do it.”
A Message of Love
Rusty says that he wants everyone who sees the show to come away with an understanding of the intimate reality of living with ALS — both the hard parts, but also the love and community that can arise in the face of the disease.
“I hope they realize that ALS isn't one single person's disease,” says Rusty. “ALS patients don't make it on their own. We rely on the help of other people. I never realized before my diagnosis how well-loved I was. ALS is terrible, as we all know, but there are some positives. It sounds strange to say, but you realize just how many people care about you.”
Click here for more information about Rusty Costanza’s Exhibit Love in the Face of ALS: A Photographic Journey.
Can’t make it to Louisiana? See more of Rusty’s photography on Facebook here.
What to Do Next: