Conceptual nominee

This photograph was taken in the winter of 2021 on the windy, frigid shores of Lake Michigan. Using a tripod welded to a pitchfork that was staked into the icy water, a flash with red gel and a silver fire suit, this image was born from freezing hands and a very brave model. With trembling bodies and a semi-spontaneous idea, the process for this photo included a few technical difficulties, one being that the receiver didn't want to reach the flash (which was staked on the tripod-pitchfork fairly close to the model, literally IN the water) for every shot. We also faced the threat of pneumonia for both the model and photographer, but powered through with a fierce determination to get The Shot. The fact that we ended up with this specific shot is kind of a creative miracle. This photograph captures a science fiction story akin to Interstellar: a space traveler adrift in an unknown ocean with potentially no way home. In the photo is Stephen Dillon photographed by Samantha Hearn.

Samantha Hearn is an artist based in Nashville, Tennessee. Her work is a colorful blend of disco meets science fiction, merging glam rock with a vintage spacegirl flair. Samantha grew up a theater kid but fell into print journalism during college, learning to pick up a camera and shoot in-the-moment. She left the news world in 2016 to play dress-up full time, creating through photography for musicians, fashion designers, actors and the like. She was recognized in 2021 by the Nashville Creative Group + Arts & Business Council with a billboard spread of her work on The Nashville Sign downtown. She photographed a Falcon Heavy SpaceX Launch as part of NASA's NASASocial program in 2019, and has traveled the world with her camera telling stories and working with clients. Samantha is also an educator at Nossi College of Art & Design where she teaches Location Lighting, Social Media, Acting & Directing and Pop Culture. She led a group of students on a study abroad to Spain in 2023 where they photographed Barcelona, Ibiza and Valencia for college credit, and she recently created a new social media course focused on AI, ethics, and the future of online media.