World Fashion Magazine highlights NPHS student’s work
Photographers Chloe Kaczkurkin and Liam Aument both model and photograph for each other for their submission to the World Fashion Magazine.
Receiving mail is one thing that never really fazes high schoolers these days, especially in this digital age. But one day when the mail contains a magazine with photos you took in it, that’s something you can never forget, and what photographer Chloe Kaczkurkin will never forget.
Kaczkurkin, a North Penn senior, was recently published in the World Fashion Magazine, an up-and-coming magazine that highlights fashion trends and rising photographers in a setting where they can see their photos in print.
She submitted with another North Penn photography student, Liam Aument, where they worked together to submit a couple of portraits of themselves which they ended up being published in four pages in an issue that came out in December. Both Kaczkurkin and Aument wrote a short description of the photos on their theme of thrifting old items to give them a new life.
“The flower field we were in I really feel worked together in the shoot to symbolize growth and new beginnings and change since this was our summer work for the new year,” Kaczkurkin said.
“I wasn’t confident with mine at first but I didn’t realize that I really did like the images and the passage about thrifting and stuff we wrote, it was a pretty interesting topic and I think they liked that,” Kazckurkin explained about the photos they sent in.
Kaczkurkin found out they had gotten in before Aument and decided to wait until she could give him a paper copy of the magazine to show him in person.
“My first reaction was to tell Liam but I had to wait until I got the magazine in,” she said, wanting to make it a surprise for him. “I gave it to him as a Christmas gift and he was over the moon. I actually gave it to him in photo class so he passed it around to show everyone.”
While this achievement is incredible for Kaczkurkin, it has been hard for her to find motivation in these past couple of weeks when finding inspiration for photography.
“I’ve been in a little bit of an artist’s block recently,” she admitted. “I’ve been trying to get more inspiration and back in the up and running with taking photos just for fun. I’m not trying to focus so much on ‘is this great?’ or ‘is this going to be successful?’ or ‘is this a lot of money?’ so I figured out I’m just doing it to take pictures for fun to get that motivation back.”
And Kaczkurkin is in the process of getting back in the groove of photography. In her AP Photography class, she is currently working on her portfolio, specifically a sustained investigation, which is where an artist explores a particular visual concern through a cohesive body of work.
“It’s a very independent project where we can work on whatever we like,” Kaczkurkin expressed. “I’m working on more of a mental process for dissociation and derealization so basically a surreal approach on the world, and then trying to picture that through photos. I just want to raise more awareness for different types of mental disorders that aren’t talked about as much.”
Looking back at this past year when struggling through virtual learning like many other students were, Kaczkurkin is grateful to have the opportunities she has now to be published in a magazine and have her art be spread around the world.
“Right now if I can just submit something really great for my portfolio, I’d be really happy,” she said. “I just want to get out of this artist’s block and get something great to come out that I’m proud of and something that people want to see and think about.”
Check out Chloe’s work on her Instagram @capturesfromchloe and contact her directly if you or anyone you know wants to have a photoshoot!
Also, check out this Knight Crier article for more on Chloe’s photography journey!