Sky So Near

by Ayla Hamilton

“I try to capture beauty and sentiment wherever I find it. My lens is drawn to anything that brings me a strong feeling—positive or negative. I lean on other female artists for guidance and inspiration. Brooklyn-based architectural photographer Devon Banks provided crucial mentorship and insight for this series. Although the photos are very different in some ways, I like to think they all communicate something about the complexities of being young and female—both the desire to be seen and the discomfort of being looked at, the tension between a readiness to launch into the world and the urge to cling to what is familiar. There’s something achingly beautiful in that in-between space, where vulnerability and strength, yearning and hesitation, collide. Through these photos, I aim to explore that liminal state, capturing its fleeting intensity and subtle contradictions.”