I could never choose just one subject to study, so I decided the best route to learning about everything was to become a journalist. I was right.
When I was 22, I took my first job in Sarasota, Florida because of a book I read. Three years later, I decided to move to West Africa and start freelancing based on some music I heard.
To me, being a photographer and journalist is about getting to know people and understanding the complexities, details and beauty of their situation. Everyone has a story to tell, and I never forget that it is a privilege to be allowed into the lives of strangers.
I speak French and English. I speak some Wolof and am working on Japanese.
My clients are publications and international NGOs and organizations. I have worked for The New York Times, the Associated Press, the United Nations and more.
While in West Africa I not only fell in love with the region, but also the man who is now my husband. We have a rock star daughter named Amelia. Together, they make me laugh at least three times a day.
I am based in Washington, D.C. and Dakar, Senegal and available for assignment.
To contact me, please email
riccimedia@gmail.com or call
US | +1.312.841.1325
SENEGAL | +221.77.705.1965
I’m so bummed I missed Tinariwen when they played in DC in November. Love them, and this music video is gorgeous.
If this isn’t beautiful, I don’t know what it is. Check out the 2:28 mark for sheer facial expression.
I went to the Newseum in Washington with a friend and fellow journalist yesterday. Though it is the priciest museum I’ve been to in DC – $21, but journos get a 20% discount – it is also one of the best.
As I walked through I kept thinking…’If I weren’t already a journalist, I would so want to be one.” …so lucky to love what I do.
Ok, so it’s not morning. But coffee reminds me of fresh starts to the day. I was in Ethiopia a couple of months ago for a work trip, and they have a coffee ceremony a few times a day (rather than tea ceremonies in other places I’ve been). And obviously it’s Ethiopia so the coffee tastes delish. Here’s a cup that was prepared for me in the Tigray region of Ethiopia in late October.
Yesterday I filed a story for VOA’s Daybreak Africa program on a great website called Africa Unsigned. It uses crowdfunding to raise money for African and Africa diaspora musicians. Check the site out for some great music.
Highlights of the interview:
1. Got serenaded by Rina Mushonga and included it in the piece. I don’t know that much about singing, but I bet it takes great pipes to sound that good while singing through a cell phone from Amsterdam to DC.
2. Pim, Africa Unsigned’s founder, hinted that they’re trying to use mobile phones as a payment method to pay online (mainly because credit cards aren’t that mainstream, thus hard to buy things online).
Listen to the story —–>>>> Africa Unsigned