In the picturesque country town of Bungendore, NSW, is the beautiful boutique gallery of award-winning photographer Jerusha McDowell.
Rushe photography gallery offers a stunning selection of fine art landscape and equine works as well as a range of cards and giftware. Located within The Malbon on the main street, you can also take a stroll around the antique shops, homewares and nursery within.
Internationally recognised for her work Jerusha McDowell is an award-winning photographer based in Bungendore, NSW. Her work has a poetic quality deeply rooted in visual story-telling.
For Jerusha, her photography career was born out of an innate need to create, and a desire to live a simpler life, more present as a parent and more connected to the things she loves. Jerusha studied photography and filmmaking at the University of NSW and later returned to photography following a very different career in national security.
Two years ago, she made the decision to resign from her career in the Australian Defence and Intelligence community to focus on photography full-time. About a year later, she opened the gallery, leaving behind a successful career that she had devoted so much of herself to. She recalls this as one of the hardest decisions she has ever made, but in the end, it felt more like an inevitability than a choice.
Reflecting on her journey, Jerusha feels as though she has come full circle back to something she was always meant to do, albeit taking the long way around.
She spent fifteen years working in the Australian Defence and Intelligence community, which allowed her to travel and work with extraordinary people, doing extraordinary things. Despite the interesting and rewarding nature of her work, it left her mentally and physically exhausted. Transitioning back to photography has allowed Jerusha to return to the things that give her life meaning and balance.
Photography teaches many things: patience, the art of observation, and above all, perspective. Jerusha understands the power of perspective and the ability to change it.
For her, photography has been an important anchor, providing the discipline and solitude needed to recalibrate. Establishing her gallery in Bungendore is particularly important because it allows her work to realize its full potential.
While the digital world is vast and offers photographers a platform to showcase their work, Jerusha believes a photograph isn’t truly complete until it is printed, framed, and presented. She values the journey of a photograph from the decisions made during its capture, through the editing process, to the printing, framing, and exhibiting. The gallery allows her work to reach this final destination.
Latest Exhibition
The “Common Threads” exhibition was the latest exhibition showcased at The Rushe Photography Gallery inside The Malbon. The exhibition was a joint venture between Jerusha and acclaimed woven sculpture artist, Linda Coomber.
The exhibition brought together the shared elements of both their mediums in a celebration of tone and texture, landscape and form. Linda’s work is exquisite, combining unique natural materials into beautiful, often functional works.
One of her signature materials is naturally shed deer antlers, which she uses as handles and frames for handwoven baskets. Linda loves the idea of bringing the natural world into our interiors.
Jerusha notes that their work shares many common elements despite being in different mediums, and a collaborative show is something she has wanted to do at the gallery for some time. She is thrilled to finally have been able to do it, and the exhibition has been a huge success.
Jerusha’s favorite project is her current ongoing documentary series titled “Where The Snowy Mountain Stockmen Used To Ride,” capturing a vanishing legacy of horsemanship in the Snowy Mountains. This project continues to be one of the great creative adventures of her life. The heritage and traditions of mountain horsemanship are etched in Australian folklore. Though numbers are dwindling, there are still those for whom the mountains are a way of life. This project explores a world beyond the confines and complexity of the modern world, offering a photographic journey into the mountains to document a vanishing legacy of high country horsemanship and bushcraft.
The project began simply as an excuse to ride horses and shoot beautiful, remote landscapes with her friend, guide, and subject, Mark. However, it quickly evolved into something much more significant. Jerusha has been overwhelmed with how this project has been received so far, having been published and received a number of awards, including a Top 5 in the International Photography Awards. Shooting in the mountains is never easy, as the weather changes quickly, the riding is hard, and the environment is harsh and unforgiving, especially on sensitive camera equipment.
Despite these challenges, these are the projects that artists dream about. For Jerusha, the challenge in documentary photography is always navigating the delicate balance between being a storyteller and a witness, and between capturing authenticity and perspective. She loves the idea that documentary photography can still be beautiful, creative, authentic, and faithful. Jerusha offers insightful advice to young aspiring photographers who wish to follow a similar path. She emphasizes that photography is about more than pictures; it’s about revealing things unseen and showing people something through your eyes. As a photographer, your connection to a subject is the defining characteristic of your storytelling.
In the age of social media, presets, and AI, it is relatively easy to take good quality pictures and edit them. However, much of what is out there is simply a copy of a copy, with people trying to create something that looks like what’s already popular. This, she believes, is the death of storytelling and creative expression. Jerusha advises aspiring photographers to focus on what they want to say and what they have to offer. Finding your own voice and style is the biggest challenge and journey as an artist. Her advice is to keep going, as photography is a tough game that takes time for you to start trusting your own instincts and stop looking to emulate others. Once you do, it’s a never-ending process of learning, discovery, expression, and evolution. Creativity is a strange, unaccountable thing, but persistence and self-trust are key.
Looking to the future, Jerusha is excited about the possibilities for Rushe Photography. Finishing the Snowy Mountains project is her main focus creatively this year. She is thrilled with where this work is taking her both professionally and creatively. There will definitely be a film component to the project, and she is excited to begin that.
At present, she and her team are still working through some logistical issues, such as carrying video equipment on horses, but this challenge excites her.
Jerusha has always loved the feeling of testing her limits, believing that finding your limits—physically, mentally, and creatively—helps you discover the true measure of yourself and what you are capable of. The work she is doing now pushes all of these limits, and she is really excited about that.
At the gallery, Jerusha is looking forward to hosting more guest artists and engaging in more collaborations. She will also be running workshops later in the year, which she anticipates will be fun. The success of the gallery has been incredibly rewarding, with more and more visitors from across the region and beyond.
Jerusha is part of a beautiful community of artists and galleries in Bungendore. Her gallery is part of The Malbon, an incredible local business collective that brings together local businesses and artisans. This amazing community has provided her with friendships and creative partnerships with incredible people who inspire her endlessly.
Jerusha is genuinely excited about the future of The Malbon as it continues to grow and evolve, much like her own artistic journey.
