Description: For me, some of my favorite moments in nature are ones that come out of nowhere. These are three of my favorite landscape shots – all taken in relatively unimpressive locations – but that showcase the hidden beauty that can so readily be found in nature.
Description: Shot on 35mm film, these images are quiet observations — fragments of daily life where meaning hides in plain sight.
Description: For this year's theme, I took a more literal approach. From a young age, I've always loved to explore the unseen; finding rocks in the woods by my home that would shimmer from tiny metal inclusions, playing with the plastic (but very functional) microscope my parents got me, or spending hours reading about outer space. Fast forward many years, when I got my hands on a macro lens during the pandemic, I learned how much fun it was to zoom in on common garden flora and fauna. It pulled at the same elation I felt as a child. Lately, I haven't had many chances to explore these everyday hidden gems, but this past year, I had an opportunity to pull out my camera and discover them again.
Description: Finding beauty in the winter does not always come easily to me, but lately I have noticed the hidden gift it offers: the sunsets. When the sun sits lower in the sky, my room is flooded in orange and pink hues—the epitome of golden hour. This crochet project, which I began during anatomy to decompress and completed in late January 2025, felt like the perfect companion for such a moment. I photographed it against the shifting light: taken five minutes apart, the vivid oranges dissolved into deep blue shadows as the sun slipped beyond the horizon. A quiet reminder for myself; even in the coldest darkest months, beauty still lingers.
Croatia
Egypt Saint Lucia
Description: The central theme behind these photos is the appreciation of impermanence. Captured during sunrise or sunset, each image seeks to hold the shifting of light and the emergence of life as the day begins or winds down. As a photographer, these photos remind me that it’s not only the beginnings or endings that matter most, but the moments in between that are just as worthy of being cherished, with or without the lens.
Description: Whenever I go home, my favorite thing to do is take walks throughout my neighborhood. Usually I wrap up these strolls by sitting by the river, where I unwind and listen to the various birds, the water, and the breeze. These moments throughout medical school have been the most grounding and are often where I find myself truly at peace. I was fortunate to take these photos of a sunset over the winter break of December 2024 and felt that they best display how this view is my hidden gem from home.
Description: In the summer heat, my garden outgrows me. The cucumber vines send out eager tendrils, grasping for purchase; they reach instinctively for the sun. I marvel at the certainty of their purpose. I am slower, less sure. Still, I reach. Between the tendrils and sunlight, I find small, hidden gems of meaning.
Description: I am primarily a bird and wildlife photographer. My favorite subjects are the birds that no one pays attention to. These shots are of Sanderlings on the beach – they’re the tiny ones that run around just out of reach of the waves. From afar they seem relatively boring, but I find them to be a wonderful gem hiding in plain sight.
