2023 Photo Contest
The Office of International Programs, in collaboration with the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, is pleased to announce the winners of the 13th annual International Eye Photo Contest. This year, 21 photos were selected from over 250 total submissions.
The contest was open to all Princeton undergraduate students who have studied, worked, conducted research, or volunteered abroad in the past year. We were honored to have Katherine Bussard, the Peter C. Bunnell Curator of Photography at the Princeton University Art Museum, judge the main categories.
Entries represent a wide range of international activities including semester and summer study abroad, PIIRS Global Seminars, the Novogratz Bridge Year Program, Engineers Without Borders, the International Internship Program, and more. Submissions were taken in over 30 countries and came from students in all seven residential colleges and 28 different concentrations.
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Best in Show, 1st Place Landscape / Nature: Calvin Kenjiro Grover ’27
Southern skies – Bali, Indonesia
"All of the extra weight and pain of carrying this tripod for a month straight will be worth it, if I can just get one clear night."
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1st place, Abstraction: Lilia Burtonpatel ’27
Nestled Windows – Banyuwangi, Indonesia
Russian-dolled frames on a floating dock give a glimpse over the clear waters off the coast of Banyuwangi, South Java.
2nd place, Abstraction: Alexis Maze ’23
Books of Rome – Rome, Italy
An outdoor vendor’s cart of books.
3rd place, Abstraction: Megan Specht ’23
Dissecting a Cactus –Nanyuki, Kenya
We were encouraged to explore and analyze the environment around us at Mpala Research Center, so we dissected a cactus and looked at the cochineal bug parasites on the plant.
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1st place, Architecture / Cityscape: Liam Seeley ’23
regarding salmon rent – Castro, Chiloé
water posing on the legs of palafitos as territory
2nd place, Architecture / Cityscape: Lilia Burtonpatel ’27
As Light Obscures – Lembang, Indonesia
Flags from the 77th anniversary of Indonesian Independence blow in the dust obscuring a quiet alleyway in Lembang.
3rd place, Architecture / Cityscape: Koji Kawamoto ’24
carino Torino – Turin, Italy
After my finals at my host university in Bologna, Italy, I visited Turin, where our program director is from. She always told us each Italian city has its own unique elegance and this trip made me understand what she meant; the French-style buildings in the city center surrounded by industrial zones, as well as the Alps looming out in distance, was so different from the medieval cityscape we had in Bologna that I felt as if I were traveling in a completely different country. The snow left on roofs from the snowstorm a day before and the beautiful sunset accentuated the elegant atmosphere of Turin.
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1st place, Landscape / Nature: Calvin Kenjiro Grover ’27
Southern skies – Bali, Indonesia
"All of the extra weight and pain of carrying this tripod for a month straight will be worth it, if I can just get one clear night."
2nd place, Landscape / Nature: Arti Schmidt ’24
Photo by Arti Schmidt ’24
Between Clouds – Küssnacht, Switzerland
View from Rigi Kulm
3rd place, Landscape / Nature: Lawrence Chen ’23
Serene Perspective –Kirinyaga, Kenya
Taken from Peak Lenana, the third-highest peak of the second mountain in the African continent. Our class had just completed our night summit to reach the peak by sunrise. I had no conception of how high up I stood until I peered leagues into the distance, spotting two helicopters approaching and wishing that they would be our salvation from the exhaustion and cold.
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1st place, People: Thomas Bogaev ’23
Nuns of the Plaza – Seville, Spain
A group of nuns in Plaza de España leisurely walk up the steps.
2nd place, People: Patrick Newcombe ’25
Morning at Dunga Beach – Kisumu, Kenya
Before my classes started at a nearby university, I took a tuk-tuk to Dunga Beach. My global seminar frequented the area in the evenings, and I had heard from a Kenyan friend that fishermen brought their catch into shore every morning at the same location. I tried to immerse myself in the scene as much as possible, being a fly on the wall as day-to-day life unfolded.
3rd place, People: Abigail Williams ’23
Wanting of Water – Laikipia, Kenya
Amidst one of Kenya's driest seasons and years, local workers and students still wanted to play a game of soccer at the end of the work day. Laikipia didn't experience rain for months, but the drawn up dirt from the field made for a fun evening match of sliding, rubbing eyes, and "wanting of water."
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1st place, PIIRS Global Seminar: Cecilia Quirk ’24
Signed, Sealed, Divided – Nicosia, Cyprus
Guarded checkpoints dot the concrete wall that bisects Nicosia, the world’s last divided capital, enforcing the physical and symbolic division; however, artistic acts of resistance in English as well as Greek have been painted with even greater frequency across the structure, arguing linguistically, artistically, and urgently for a peaceful coexistence.
2nd place, PIIRS Global Seminar: Katie Rohrbaugh ’24
Turkana Voyage – Ileret, Kenya
Anika Asthana '25 takes an unconventional approach to escaping the stifling heat of the truck. After a long and eventful day exploring Lake Turkana, the rush of wind is more than enough to bring a smile to her face.
3rd place, PIIRS Global Seminar: Charlotte Kunesh ’24
Il Gatto Carismatico 2 – Cairano, Italy
A photogenic cat seen while strolling the cobblestone paths of Cairano, Italy.
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1st place, Connection and Reflection: Katie Kopp ’23
Making chapati – Kalisizo, Uganda
Chapati is a staple food in East Africa that is made of flour, salt, oil, water, and any vegetables or herbs that you want to add. When I was in Uganda for my senior thesis research, I had the opportunity to stay with other researchers in the research program guest house, where we cooked together and enjoyed communal meals made from locally grown crops every day. Grace, the house mother, taught us how to prepare Ugandan foods such as chapati, and we shared our own recipes with the group. I absolutely loved being able to relax after a day of field research and simply talk and cook with Grace – while we were chopping vegetables or rolling out chapati, we discussed our families, upbringings, and goals in life. When I had to leave Uganda, Grace wanted to be sure that I would be able to make chapati on my own back in the U.S., so on my last night, I cooked for Grace and the other researchers, and we all enjoyed my last night there together. I've made chapati for my family in the U.S. since, but it has never tasted quite as good as it did that night.
2nd place, Connection and Reflection: Lilia Burtonpatel ’27
Photo by Lilia Burtonpatel ’27
Diriku Sebelum Matahari (Self Portrait Before the Sun) – Banyuwangi, Indonesia
Getting up with the first call to prayer that wakes Indonesia only four hours after midnight allows me to see and breath in the sunrise I so often miss in a home country that wakes late and lives fast. There's an Indonesian tradition taught to me by a friend of facing the ocean and making a wish. If the wave you wish on reaches your feet, it will come true. Standing alone surrounded by nature so familiar and yet completely new, with islands rising ahead of me and a newly-familiar chorus of words I couldn't yet understand from the nearby mosque, I felt how incredible it was to be able to live this moment. Being given the opportunity to spend a year in a completely new environment, culture, and language after the rush of high school and before the new horizon of college has awarded me the rediscovery of my connection to myself. This self-connection and self-reflection has been poignantly coupled with the journey of creating connections across the sea and islands that exist half a world away from where I was born, and having the chance to be encouraged to reflect on my place in a world that will always be so much bigger than what I know. As I look towards a new and yet familiar horizon, I'll cherish all the horizons I've looked on in the past, as well as the people I've met who've made me feel welcome in each new space. If the waves reach my feet, I'll be sure that I’ll be back here someday.
3rd place, Connection and Reflection: Beatriz Alcala-Ascencion ’25
Niñas No Madres – La Paz, Bolivia
The time I spend shadowing Bolivian physicians, particularly in specialties concerning women's health, has taught me more about the reproductive injustices seen all around me. The message portrayed by this mural, of the reproductive injustices young girls face, is one I will forever keep when going into my medical profession.
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1st place, Tigers Abroad: Molly Sauter ’23
Sunset Safari – Laikipia County, Kenya
A group of my peers look out from the roof of their van to see a giraffe having an evening snack of acacia leaves.
2nd place, Tigers Abroad: Calvin Kenjiro Grover ’27
The Pak Wafiqmobile – Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Nivan rides in the back of a truck belonging to his homestay father, Pak Wafiq, on the way back from a jazz festival. Pak Wafiq, his angkringan (cafe/hang out space) AJS, and his truck, have become iconic for our group this year.
3rd place, Tigers Abroad: Ellen Su ’23
Tapstand Inauguration Day – Pusunchas, Peru
Arielle Rivera '23 smashes champagne on behalf of the Engineers Without Borders Peru team to celebrate the completion of the 5 year long gravity fed water system in Pusunchas, Peru. Featured is one of the running tapstands which delivers water from the mountain springs to a local school.