UPDATED: March 4, 2019 at 5:48 p.m.

Photography students will have their artistry recognized this month as part of the 2019 Newhouse Photography Annual, presented in the Hallway Gallery at Light Work. The exhibit, opening March 18, will feature “Best of Show” winner Maranie Staab and Honorable Mention recipients Emily Elconin and Sam Lee.

Mike Davis, the Alexia Tsairis chair for documentary photography and a professor of practice in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, said seeing students’ work showcased in this setting is uplifting.

“The print as an expression of the image, placed next to other images that were held to the same standards of execution and iteration is a pure joy,” he said, in a Light Work press release.

Emily Elconin won Honorable Mention for her work in the 2019 Newhouse Photography Annual. This project was one of her first for her documentary photography career. Courtesy of Emily Elconin

Staab won “Best of Show” for her photography of seven-year-old Kaylee Marshfield, who recently went into remission from cancer.

For Staab, photography is all about creating relationships with the people she photographs.

“There is no humanity in numbers,” Staab said, noting the statistics that are often circulated about refugee populations. Her work this semester primarily focuses on women and children’s refugee groups in the Syracuse area, she said, in an effort to shed light on an otherwise marginalized and misunderstood group.

Staab said she met Marshfield at the New York State Fair, where she spent five days with the family to start to get to know them.

Following Marshfield and her family through everyday moments for the past seven months allowed Staab to develop a relationship with them. She said this level of closeness and comfort with the family has led to genuine, organic photographs.

Staab has seen Marshfield through chemotherapy treatments, hospital visits and even her seventh birthday party.

Lee was one of two students who earned Honorable Mention. He said he drew inspiration from both “Afronauts” by Cristina de Middel and “Theatre of Fashion” by Steven Meisel.

“The images were used to work through the social and general anxiety I was experiencing at the time,” Lee said. For him, doing this kind of work has centered his goals and helped him define what he wants to say through each image.

Sam Lee won Honorable Mention for his photography work, inspired by ‘Afronauts’ by Cristina de Middel and ‘Theatre of Fashion’ by Steven Maisel. Courtesy of Sam Lee

Elconin also received Honorable Mention for her photos of local female rapper Monique Williams, also known as MoeBetta ThaGoddess. She said she aimed to capture how Williams balances the different aspects of her life, including motherhood, being an aspiring rapper and living on the South Side.

“I was able to spend so much time with her, and her kids, in their home,” Elconin said. “I was able to learn a lot about how to photograph them and be kind of in the background of their everyday life.”

The two formed a great relationship and still talk today, Elconin said, after spending long car trips to concerts and even Easter together. Often called “the paparazzi” by Williams’ kids, Elconin said she was able to be a playful part of their lives, all while documenting the “fierce, badass woman” that is MoeBetta ThaGoddess.

This project, Elconin added, was one of the first of her documentary photography career. She said she hopes to use it as a foundation to further her work in the industry.

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post,Maranie Staab was misquoted. Also, the nature of Staab’s project was unclear and the photograph that won “Best of Show” was misstated. The Daily Orange regrets these errors.

Published on March 3, 2019 at 9:34 pm