Samsung gave me the opportunity to travel across the country to one of the darkest skies in the United States to explore my newfound love for astrophotography. Astrophotography is the art of capturing images of astronomical objects, and the night sky.
As a child growing up in an urban area, I never had the opportunity to stargaze, if I was lucky, maybe I could spot three stars from my backyard. I have always been enamored by the sheer scale of our universe, and have always dreamed of experiencing more of it. Using photography and astronomy, I question the impact my urban upbringing had on my perception of the world, and try to reestablish a personal connection with nature.
For weeks, I stayed up all night honing my astrophotography skills, learning about telescope alignment, and the infinite galaxies and nebulae. One brisk evening, as I knelt over my telescope and peered through the cold eyepiece, I finally spotted a little smudge, what I later found out was, Dumbbell Nebula! I instantly reverted back to my childhood self in awe, filled with excitement and curiosity. The months of research, trial and error were worth it! I was finally prepared for my trip across the country alongside my 70 pound telescope.
After driving across the country, through endless fields of grass and mountains, camping in Badlands National Park, feeling as if I can touch the stars, I made my way back to New York with a newfound perspective, and a myriad of eye-opening photographs and videos to share.
Determined to share the sliver of our universe that I learned to see and capture with Samsung, I projected the imagery on my childhood streets of Brooklyn. Specifically the places I yearned to look up and see stars from as a kid: the store around the corner, the subway station I took to school everyday, and my cousin’s house. This projection experience momentarily fills the void of natural connection within an urban environment. The mixture of imagery and its presentation celebrates the grandiosity of nature and exemplifies the level to which one can create an experience using Samsung devices.