A body of work that showcases the photographer’s vision and demonstrates versatility, expertise, and depth.
First Place: Paul Besch-Turner
From left, Duncan Grant, Erica Wilson, Nils Msl, Jasmin MacDonald, and Miles Gordon drag a 400-pound wooden canoe across a shallow sandbar, the only access to Richmond Gulf at low tide during the final stage of a 45-day, 700-kilometer expedition across northern Quebec on, Aug. 5, 2025. The team traveled traditionally from the La Forge reservoir through the Seal Lakes and across Lac à l’Eau Claire, navigating the rarely documented Rivière du Nord through Tursujuq National Park. Despite being drained by injuries and weeks of obscured skies, the crew drew on their remaining strength to reach the Arctic Ocean as the clouds finally lifted to reveal the 400-meter cliffs of the gulf. This push represented the final exertion of a journey through a wilderness that historical surveyors often avoided due to low water levels and brutal climates.Ursula Besch, a former journalist who documented the reconstruction of post-World War II Germany, is photographed in her home in Fairport, N.Y on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. Besch, who has been battling Alzheimer’s disease for nearly a year, grew up in West Germany and entered the field of journalism as a young woman. Her career included documenting German cultural reconstruction and participating in the first German student expedition to the Soviet Union. She later moved to Queens, N.Y., to work as a freelancer. After living independently for her entire life, Besch moved to Fairport five years ago, where she began experiencing progressive memory loss. She often relives her early life by reading books kept from her time in Germany. In the background of the portrait is a color photograph of her granddaughters, Juliet Besch-Turner (left) and Lisa Besch-Turner, alongside her mother, Pauline Besch. Her home is currently filled with archives of books, photographs, and negatives as her daughter, Natasha Besch-Turner, assists in organizing her lifelong work.Carlos Sanchez, a student on one of his first multi-day expeditions, is photographed using a LifeStraw to drink from a puddle at the peak of Armstrong Mountain in the Adirondacks, N.Y., Oct. 13, 2025.Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators gather for the “No Kings” protest on 7th Avenue, south of Times Square, on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.Carlos Sanchez, a Rochester Institute of Technology student, is photographed on a tintype—a complex, historic photographic process involving a hand-poured emulsion sensitive primarily to ultraviolet light in Rochester, N.Y., on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025.An aerial drone photograph on the Rivière du Nord on Monday, July 28, 2025.Rubble outcrop in the highest part of the canyon at Letchworth State Park, N.Y., on Nov. 2, 2025. This image explores the early photographic documentation of notable landscapes in the Western United States by photographers and explorers such as William Henry Jackson and F. Jay Haynes, who documented terrain as if it had never been seen before. This photograph uses large-format tintype to focus on details of the landscape that resonate personally, rather than focusing on primary tourist attractions.Connor Nguyen, a player for the Rochester Institute of Technology baseball team, poses for a portrait on Sunday, March 1, 2026.JJames Fischer poses for a portrait on Thursday, Mar. 26, 2026, in Rochester, N.Y. Fischer models as the emotional, ethereal music of the band Radiohead is explored. The concept draws on the music’s introspective nature and its deep message, seeking to visualize the band’s sonic atmosphere. A star filter was used in the creation of this photograph to enhance the lighting effects.Peter Wuten loads a wannigan—a traditional wooden food storage box used by Indigenous peoples and early surveyors—into a wooden canoe on the Rivière du Nord on Wednesday, July 8, 2026. For 45 days, an expedition of 12 canoeists traveled nearly 700 kilometers from the La Forge reservoir through the Seal Lakes, across Lac à l’Eau Claire, and down the Rivière du Nord into Richmond Gulf on Hudson Bay. Following a period of biting rain and wind, the group encountered a calm sunrise, illustrating the rapidly shifting weather patterns of remote Quebec. Though the journey through Tursujuq National Park brought significant hardship—including 40 mph headwinds, persistent fog, and millions of black flies—the daily labor of paddling and portaging became a rhythmic habit for the crew.Courtney Balles, saxophonist for the band Buddahood, poses for a portrait in her home in Holley, N.Y., on March 28, 2026. Balles studied violin in college and worked in music therapy for years before joining the ensemble. She lives with her daughter and husband, Kris, in a church converted into a residence. Balles takes great pride in her experience with Buddahood, a group she has played with for nearly 20 years. Founded in Rochester in 1996 by Tony Cavagnaro, the eight-piece band plays a complex mix of music described as a “worldternative groove.” Carlos Sanchez poses for a portrait on Feb. 14, 2026, in Rochester, N.Y. Science fiction has been a permanent fascination in this work, exploring the concepts, problems, and facts of the world in an idealized or extrapolated future. Sanchez is photographed here with his reflection as an interpretation of the unseen inner workings of interstellar oddities, where time and space bend and realities alter. The image serves as an exploration of these shifting dimensions.Rochester Institute of Technology’s Sarah Tawaf (22) is embraced by Skidmore College goalkeeper Avery Rogers during a game in Rochester, N.Y on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. The Rochester Institute of Technology defeated Skidmore 4-0, a victory that secured the team a spot in the Liberty League playoffs.
Solastalgia
While landscapes are traditionally perceived under the egalitarian wash of sunlight or clouds, Solastalgia explores these spaces by night to feel the scale of the environment without the interruption of day. I alter these familiar locations not by manipulating their contents, but by introducing an alternate light source that reveals textures as alien, strange, and illicit. Whether illuminating the indifferent waterfalls of Letchworth or a mountain of urban rubble in Henrietta, the work serves as a meditative intervention into the “human effect” on our surroundings. This series captures a world that continues to exist without an audience, presenting a landscape that feels increasingly distant, as if it should not be observed under these circumstances.
Chimney Bluffs lit from a drone on Apr. 22, 2025, in Wolcott, N.Y.A rock mass lit by a drone in Letchworth State Park on Apr. 25, 2025, in Castile, N.Y.A rubble pile is created after a concrete building is demolished to make way for a new hotel and shopping plaza on Apr. 17, 2025, in Henrietta, N.Y.Chimney Bluffs lit from a drone on Apr. 23, 2025, in Wolcott, N.Y.A Truck parked in a field is lit by a drone on Apr. 22, 2025, in Castile, N.Y.A canyon is lit by a drone in Letchworth State Park on Apr. 25, 2025, in Castile, N.Y.Chimney Bluffs lit from a drone on Apr. 22, 2025, in Wolcott, N.Y.
Posted: April 29, 2026 by Hannah Murphy
2026 Portfolio Second Place
A body of work that showcases the photographer’s vision and demonstrates versatility, expertise, and depth.
First Place: Paul Besch-Turner
Solastalgia
While landscapes are traditionally perceived under the egalitarian wash of sunlight or clouds, Solastalgia explores these spaces by night to feel the scale of the environment without the interruption of day. I alter these familiar locations not by manipulating their contents, but by introducing an alternate light source that reveals textures as alien, strange, and illicit. Whether illuminating the indifferent waterfalls of Letchworth or a mountain of urban rubble in Henrietta, the work serves as a meditative intervention into the “human effect” on our surroundings. This series captures a world that continues to exist without an audience, presenting a landscape that feels increasingly distant, as if it should not be observed under these circumstances.
Category: Uncategorized