Stanford Global Studies announces the winners of its tenth annual student photo contest
Stanford Global Studies (SGS) has unveiled the winners of its tenth annual photo contest. Each year, the competition celebrates the creative talents of student photographers affiliated with SGS’ 14 centers and programs.
More than 80 photos, captured in locations across the United States and around the world, were entered into six categories: the natural world, people, photojournalism, travel, animals and hometown love.
Grand Prize
Winner
“Quarantine Birthday Portrait in Gold” by anthropology Ph.D. candidate Jasmine Reid (Center for African Studies)
“As a travel photographer, I photograph myself in different settings not only to create a memory, but also to reflect back to myself the new things I’ve learned about myself during my travels. A year into quarantine, without any international travel on the books and after a year of increased anti-Blackness, I wanted to take a new kind of portrait. I made this portrait in my apartment for my thirtieth birthday in March 2021. I refashioned into a headdress the ‘3–0’ metallic balloons I’d received as a birthday gift, and I surrounded myself with the 34 plants I’d acquired over the course of quarantine. Finally, I adorned myself with gold leaf to remind myself of the beauty of my Blackness, even when the world couldn’t always see it.”
The Natural World
Winner
“Three Sands” by history major Kyra Jasper, ’23 (Center for Human Rights & International Justice)
“While working at a judicial reform NGO in Jakarta during the summer of 2018 with the King Center and Center for Human Rights and International Justice, my co-intern and I visited Labuan Bajo, an island in Eastern Indonesia famous for its beautiful beaches. One of the places we went was an island with three different colored sands (pink, black and white).”
People
Winner
“Serbian Café” taken by history Ph.D. candidate Michelle Mengsu Chang (Center for East Asian Studies)
“In the spring of 2018, I was driving around the Balkans with family. Soon after crossing into Serbia from Montenegro, we stopped by a small town where the only eatery was also where the local old men would park themselves during the day to chat, drink and play cards. Despite the fact that we didn’t speak any common language, they were delighted to see us and kept insisting on buying us drinks.”
Photojournalism
Winner
“高美濕地 (High Beauty Wetlands)” by East Asian studies student Nicholas Welch, ’23 (Center for East Asian Studies)
“These windmills lie in among Taichung’s 高美濕地, which translates to ‘high beauty wetlands.’ This photo reminds me of how many different forms of beauty can exist at once — a thriving wetland, children exploring it, green energy preserving Taiwan’s beauty, with sun backlighting it all.”
Travel
Winner
“Tree of Life” by history Ph.D. candidate Michelle Mengsu Chang (Center for East Asian Studies)
“I took this photo during my 2018–19 research year in China. At the foot of the Fragrant Hills on the outskirts of Beijing, there is a Buddhist temple close to a thousand years old. In the autumn, all the colors seem to become more vivid and saturated. Looking into a pond on the temple ground, I saw the reflection of a tall pine, and the colorful Koi fish lit up the reflection, as though the tree was bearing fruit.”
Animals
Winner
“Taking a Rest” by international relations major Serena Zhang, ’21 (Program in International Relations and Global Studies Internship Program)
“I captured this snapshot of several resting yaks in Tibet, where I visited briefly following my Global Studies internship in Shanghai in 2019. Most yaks are domesticated animals in Tibet, and Tibetans use them to carry heavy loads up the steep mountainous terrain that comprises a significant amount of Tibet’s landscape. The yaks here were likely taking a rest following a tiring journey or waiting for tourists to come take photos with them, as tourism is a large part of Tibet’s economy. The photo gives me a sense of peace and tranquility, a moment of earth and animal existing together in harmony.”
Hometown Love
Winner
“Yield” by anthropology Ph.D. candidate Jasmine Reid (Center for African Studies)
“I had to evacuate my fieldwork site of South Africa in late March 2020, and as I settled into quarantine in Northern California, I took weekly trips out to the coast to photograph the weather at different times of day. This photograph of an early-morning bank of fog in Pacifica, California, is one of my favorites, as it holds for me both the calm and the anxiety of quarantine isolation.”
Honorable Mentions
“Wrong Way” by anthropology Ph.D. candidate Jasmine Reid (Center for African Studies)
“I snapped this shot during my anthropology fieldwork in South Africa in early March 2020, soon before I had to evacuate back to the U.S. because of COVID-19. My brother had come to visit, and he was eager to go on a game drive, so we drove out to the Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa’s North West Province. After about an hour of driving around, a family of four rhinos blocked our vehicle’s path and refused to move for half an hour. I made this picture as the rhinos began to appear from the bush and our guide happened to be looking elsewhere.”
“Poppy’s Edge” by anthropology Ph.D. candidate Jasmine Reid (Center for African Studies)
“I had to evacuate my fieldwork site of South Africa in late March 2020, and as I settled into quarantine in Northern California, I found myself drawn to the spring wildflowers that were blooming. This macro shot of a poppy field near Stanford’s campus embodies the calm I found in the flowers, as the world around me changed for good.”
“Qilian Mountain Road” by East Asian studies master’s student Xingchen Lan (Center for East Asian Studies)
“I took the photo when I was traveling Qilian Mountain of Qinghai Province in China in 2019.”
“Dollhouses” by science, technology and society major Olivia Popp, ’21 (Stanford Global Studies)
“I visited Rothenburg ob der Tauber while I lived abroad in Hamburg, Germany during my gap year between junior and senior year. Despite being all the way across the country, I insisted on visiting because my father had lived there decades earlier when he was the exact same age I was. Visiting during the holiday months, the city square was alive with a small Christmas market (Weihnachtsmarkt) filled with small booths selling delicious treats and gifts for loved ones, the city buildings around known for their iconic preservation of medieval architecture. I eventually snapped this photo from atop the town hall (Rathaus), pausing to quickly crack open a window along the spiral staircase to take a photo from a less common perspective. To me, the streets seemed aglow with light and life, as I, too, tried to take it all in to connect with a sense of place unbound by time.”
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