Photography can a powerful medium. It can capture struggle, pain, and real-life journies. 

Tony Fouhse is taking his journalistic talents to new and important depths. He is documenting a young woman's life as a former heroin addict through photography and writing. Tony is successfully leveraging the power of the crowd to fund his project and related travels.

What was the inspiration behind the photography project you are currently running on RocketHub?  Why is it important to you?

I had been collaborating with a small society of drug addicts that congregate on one corner of my hometown.....shooting portraits. I did this for four years (2007 to 2010). My intention with that project (titled: USER) was not to colonize, judge or change the subjects, just to acknowledge and respect their presence.

Last year, when I was shooting on the corner, I met Stephanie and, like I say in the video, there was just something about her that compelled me to blurt out: "Is there something I can do to help you?" She said: "Yes." and it all just started happening.

This project is important to me for a couple of reasons. First, Stephanie and I have become good friends who have been through Hell together (she more than me), and that certainly creates a bond. Secondly, I believe that showing the human side of addicts is important. Too often they are seen (if they are seen at all) as sub-human non-entities. What Stephanie is willing to show the world, the face of her addiction and struggle, is something that needs to be seen.

That's quite a powerful story. How has your experience been as a crowdfunding pioneer in the world of photo journalism in Canada - how are your supporters responding?

Well, so far, so good. I set a modest goal, one that would allow me to complete just one more aspect of this project (even though there will be many more aspects to come). In retrospect, I probably should have asked for more, to enable me to support and move Live Through This forward in more ways. For instance, there is  the dedicated website that is in the works for Live Through This, and that costs money, plus it would be good to be able to make the trip to the coast, to keep shooting, more than the one time I'm trying to finance through RocketHub. I'm not too sure about asking again, later on, for more money from my supporters. There is such a thing as donor-fatigue. I suppose I'm sort of hoping that I will surpass my goal by a fair amount so I can have some funds in hand to really round this project out. (And I hope I didn't just jinx this whole thing by saying that right out loud.)

Your honesty seems to be very well received by your fans. I believe that running a second-leg of this project on RocketHub is very much do-able.

You've built a lot of momentum quickly. Any advice for Creatives looking to crowdfund a similar project?

One thing I didn't mention in my RocketHub appeal is that I have been blogging on a weekly basis about this project since November 2010. There were many twists and turns, ups and downs during that time and my blogs' audience really felt a connection to Stephanie and what she was going through. I suppose that that feeling of connection is a great help. As well, I sent out 7 or 8 personal letters of appeal the day I launched. But, in the end, I believe that it is the fact that this was a known project that people had been following and were already emotionally invested in that really helped.

So far I know everyone who has contributed. What will make me even more excited about this process is if I begin to get to get donations from those who I don't know, people who have just bumped into LiveThrough This on RocketHub and believe the project is worthy of support.

This is a meaninful and important project. Thank you Tony for bringing it to RocketHub. Support Tony, here. And check out more of his incredible work (where these pictures comes from), here.

-Vlad