2nd Place winner
Coney Island at Dusk
DESCRIPTION
I shot this photo at Coney Island on labor day 2023. The boardwalk was packed, the sky was cast in an array of colors, and it was a beautiful fall evening. The photograph is a long exposure I shot without a tripod, and I balanced the camera on the railing to keep it steady. The photograph was shot on Portra 800 medium format film, and I printed it by hand in the darkroom. The colors haven't been altered or enhanced as the file is a scan of the physical color darkroom print that I made. AUTHOR
Natasha Segebre (they/them), known as Nat, is a 24 year old queer photographer, creative director, visual artist, film maker and writer based in Brooklyn, New York. They have a BFA in Photography and Imaging with a minor in Creative Writing from NYU’s Tisch School of The Arts. They’re Colombian-American and were born and raised in south Florida.Nat’s most recognizable photographic style takes the shape of atmospheric night landscapes created by long exposures shot on film. They enjoy walking in the middle of the night when the world is asleep, searching for places to transform with their lens. Their senior thesis project, “There Is Something To Be Said About The Night” (2022), encapsulates what they describe as a “long continuous walk” through the American East Coast suburbs—a meditative practice they began during lockdown in 2020. Their artist statement for the project states: “A friend once told me that meaning comes from doing what feels right, and when I was at the lowest point in my life, this is what felt right, and still does.”
Beyond their night work, Nat documents people and life with the same watchful and artistic eye, creating images that make everyday life carry the same meditative and transformative view. Their work is all analog and shot on medium format, 35mm and large format film. They like to be hands-on in the analog process, often processing their own film, darkroom printing and using experimental techniques.