Samo students honored in "New York Times" photo competition

Out of 2,200 submissions across the nation, three Samo photography students were selected as finalists in a “New York Times” photo contest. Winner Deen Babakhyi (’19), runner-up Krshna Airaudi (’19) and honorable mention Natalia Jovovich (’20) were among 36 high schoolers chosen for their work to be recognized in the “New York Times” online. In October, the “New York Times” Learning Network asked high school students of Generation Z to display an aspect of teenage culture that they thought was largely misunderstood. The “Show Us Your Generation” theme drew submissions with topics ranging from school atmosphere to social dynamics, home life to cultural commentary. The contest encouraged teenagers to analyze how the media represents them and to counter the perception with their own perspectives.Babakhyi, one of nine winners, chose to comment on the social transition during adolescence and the concept of one’s innocence. “Many people see innocence as a period in one’s life that typically expires during adolescence. As we grow up, we lose our playfulness, our memories, our ability to think independently and creatively,” Babakhyi said. “We are supposed to experiment, we are supposed to be competitive, we are supposed to grow.” Airaudi and Jovovich each sought to show how societal expectations from older generations can cramp the social development of the true nature of Generation Z youth. “We challenge the older ways of the past. I believe that we have more tolerance of people being who they want to be, even if it looks weird or abnormal,” Airaudi said. "Nick Trotter [(’19)] and I spent many days working together, creating and developing the idea of what we wanted to shoot, and we are proud of how the art came out. Collaborative effort is what made this truly successful."Photo teacher Martin Ledford, whose advanced class focuses on visual storytelling through photo essays and portraiture, only had positive things to say about his students who entered. “A number of my students entered the contest with very good work and essays. The three students who were chosen as finalists had incredible work that must have struck a chord with the art directors who selected the winners,” Ledford said.This is not the first time Ledford’s photography students have been featured in “The New York Times.” Nico Young (’17) first made his debut in the “The New York Times Magazine” in September 2016 with photos showing perennial high school culture at Samo. Moving forward, Ledford has high hopes for the students in his photo program.“There are a number of talented photography students at the moment. Some of the images are among the best I’ve seen since I began teaching seven years ago at Samo, so I believe there are photo students with a bright future if they want it,” Ledford said.