WILLIAMSTOWN — Two pictures snapped by native teenagers are headed to an exhibit in Philadelphia.
Mount Greylock Regional High School seniors Jack Uhas and Natasha Nugent have been two of 195 college students nationwide and 11 from Massachusetts, chosen to exhibit their work within the 2025 Drexel University High School Photography Contest.
The contest obtained over 2,100 submissions from college students nationwide and the works, together with Uhas’ “Ben’s Chili Bowl” and Nugent’s “Shadows of the Past,” will probably be on show all through February contained in the Drexel University URBN Center.
Both college students have been taking a images class final semester when media arts trainer Karin Stack inspired the category to submit photographs.
“I thought they were great choices, really well justified, beautiful work, structurally sound and thoughtful,” stated Stack of her college students’ chosen photographs. And [there was] a excessive stage of consideration of shade, gentle, shadow, all that good things.”
Natasha Nugent was one in every of two Mount Greylock Regional High School seniors chosen to exhibit their work within the 2025 Drexel University High School Photography Contest. Her chosen picture, “Shadows of the Past,” was taken within the woods close to her highschool throughout a faculty images course.
Nugent’s curiosity in images piqued in the course of the pandemic, particularly for photographing birds. She took the images class at college to be taught extra usually in regards to the craft.
“It’s been great to be able to take the class in school this year, to learn more about the cameras and how they work, and it sort of expands my horizons with photography,” stated Nugent, who will attend Swarthmore College simply exterior Philadelphia subsequent yr. “Ms. Stack has been really great at helping me with all of that.”
“Shadows of the Past” by Natasha Nugent, a Mount Greylock Regional High School senior, was chosen for the 2025 Drexel University High School Photography Contest out of over 2,100 submissions nationwide.
Her chosen picture, “Shadows of the Past” was taken throughout images class on a fall day behind college. Wandering across the close by woods, Nugent was captivated by the sunshine.
“I was really struck by all sorts of shadows on the trees, and this one in particular, of a fern with its shadow projected onto the tree trunk, really stood out to me,” she stated. “I took a lot of pictures of this one fern in shadow, before deciding that this was the best of them.”
Nugent stated she is already excited for the digital images and movie images programs she’s enrolled in at Swarthmore within the fall.
Jack Uhas was one in every of two Mount Greylock Regional High School seniors chosen to exhibit their work within the 2025 Drexel University High School Photography Contest. The chosen works will probably be on show on the Philadelphia faculty in February.
Uhas taught himself images years earlier than taking Stack’s class, even beginning the Instagram account @jackuphoto. He submitted a number of photographs to the competition, together with the chosen one which he took whereas he was a junior finding out in Washington, D.C., on the School for Ethics and Global Leadership.
While there, he obtained to spend time with and current a few of his work to working photojournalists, together with his work with D.C. landmark Ben’s Chili Bowl.
“Ben’s Chili Bowl” by Jack Uhas, a Mount Greylock Regional High School senior, was chosen as a “Judges Favorite” for the 2025 Drexel University High School Photography Contest.
“It was one of the photos they had pointed out that they thought was the most moving or most compelling,” stated Uhas, who hasn’t determined the place he’ll find yourself however plans to main in political science. “From there, I kind of kept it in my back pocket and my teacher told me about this opportunity about a month ago.”
The diner, well-known for its chili canines, was based in 1958 and through that point, was identified to serve artists like Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole and Miles Davis after they carried out at close by golf equipment on U Street.
Uhas’ picture was awarded the “Judges’ Favorite” distinction.
Regardless of a scholar’s chosen path, Stack emphasised how arts training strengthens basic instructional studying. She pointed to the Partnership for twenty first Century Skill’s four Cs of abilities that college students ought to possess to achieve success in a digital age: collaboration, communication, essential considering and creativity.
“That’s exactly what we do in my classes,” she stated. “An arts education is a wonderful way to approach all of these broad, transferable skills.”
Her college students agreed.
“I think the arts are such an important part of education, and certainly have been for me, so I’m very happy that I’ve been able to explore so many different facets of that,” stated Nugent.