American Photography 42 Winners

Bernardo y El Rechazo del Titanic

Beach Vendors is an ongoing multimedia project that honors the everyday lives of beach vendors worldwide. Through intimate portraits and personal interviews, the project connects viewers with each vendor’s world—placing their products in the hands of the first collector and giving 10% of every first print sale back to the vendor. It is art with impact, built on humanity, connection, and respect. Beach Vendors began over ten years ago and continues as an ongoing body of work. I plan to keep traveling to photograph beach vendors in other regions of the world, expanding the project’s scope while deepening its research. The project's long-term goal is to culminate in a book that brings together images and lived stories, honoring these individuals as collaborators rather than subjects.

Cenaida y Las Frutas

Beach Vendors is an ongoing multimedia project that honors the everyday lives of beach vendors worldwide. Through intimate portraits and personal interviews, the project connects viewers with each vendor’s world—placing their products in the hands of the first collector and giving 10% of every first print sale back to the vendor. It is art with impact, built on humanity, connection, and respect. The visual language of Beach Vendors is rooted in a dialogue with the artists who have shaped my way of seeing. Rineke Dijkstra’s Beach Portraits revealed to me the power of simplicity and presence. Julian Germain’s Classroom Portraits demonstrated how a single framework can unfold into a global study of sameness and difference. And Gideon Mendel’s Submerged Portraits showed how portraiture can confront us with the stark realities of our world, transforming individuals into witnesses of a shared crisis. Their influence informs my own commitment to creating images that are both visually resonant and socially grounded. Beach Vendors began over ten years ago and continues as an ongoing body of work. I plan to keep traveling to photograph beach vendors in other regions of the world, expanding the project’s scope while deepening its research. The project's long-term goal is to culminate in a book that brings together images and lived stories, honoring these individuals as collaborators rather than subjects.