Tom Nesti (age 17)

Nantes, France

I have a reverence for nature. It was the season of roses and they were in full bloom. I rode my bike through the woods to a rose garden in my city. I had a feeling of wonder— there were thousands of roses, hundreds of hues, the smell of infinite fragrances, and the humming of innumerable insects. I caught a glimpse of a beautiful rosebush. I set my camera ready, I bent forward, intensely aware of everything around me, and waited for the perfect frame and the perfect moment when an insect would come and stay on my selected flower. A ladybug came. This powerful moment reminded me of the beauty of the symbiosis between all the beings of nature. We are nothing without this connection and link. I am nothing without it.

I know that when inspiration comes to me, I have to capture it and not let it slip. I learned how to recognize when I have inspiration. The film and the Earthrise photo informed me and inspired me to always seek new perspectives when shooting photos.

My beautiful city is important to me. It is where I grew up, where all my loved ones are living, and where I learned photography. I would like my place to be remembered for its beautiful gardens and flowers. I would like my city to be remembered for its commitment to protecting the environment, to protecting the planet, because we only have one—whether it is seen on a galactic scale, like in Earthrise, or on a minuscule scale, like a rose.

Maya Hernandez (age 16)

Florida, U.S.

“Do we treat the earth as if ki is our relative—as if the earth were animated by being—with reciprocity and reverence, or as stuff that we may treat with or without respect, as we choose?”— Robin Wall Kimmerer

Mirrors reflect the truth, the truest version of yourself. This plain chair set upon the neatly trimmed grass with a slight border of fencing is where we supposedly belong. To sit in that chair is to become the you everyone else knows. However, mirrors reflect the truth. On the inside, we are all more akin to the sprawling trees depicted here. This photograph represents the outsider looking in. We see the chair reserved for us within the parameters of the mirror. The twining, sprawling, wild branches of misdirection, and within that, the smallest glimpse of the truth: a grim face that almost blends in with the surroundings. With the trees. With nature. Our natural state.

Reflection of photographer in round city street mirror

Bailey Seaton (age 16)

Florida, U.S.

Glass Planet

I have always been fascinated with reflections. I was walking in New York City and saw a circular mirror, the kind used to keep one safe from running into someone or from attack. Before taking the picture, I took note of the setting. I saw all the lines intersecting towards the mirror: the sharp lines of the awnings, the metal pole, and the buildings off in the distance. The living tree rests outside this awning, twisting and adjusting itself to the lifeless metal and concrete city. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, I might not have taken this shot. But when I look at how trees struggle for life in the concrete jungle of New York City, it made me think of the struggle for life in the human race, how this struggle to overcome the pandemic rewarded the planet in unexpected ways, and how air quality improved and animals and plants flourished. There are two central living beings (me and the tree). We are the central subjects, not objects. The living and the inanimate are juxtaposed against each other, converging at the center point, the mirror, the point of reflection. The reflection in the circular mirror of the circular world shows life the way it is, the way it should be—mankind, plant kind, and lifeless buildings existing equally.

Ian Rosenzweig (age 14)

Pennsylvania, U.S.

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Student Gallery

Using the Student Gallery in the Classroom