Honorable Mention / 2024 / Portraiture / Other

• Photographer
  Laurie Swope, United States

80-year-old Millice plunges into an icy pond in New England in January. I began taken portraits of fellow cold water enthusiasts last winter. What always surprises me most about the photographs were the expressions of peace and joy on my subjects' faces while plunging in the coldest of water. I recognize their joy. There are physical benefits to cold water immersion which naturally elevate mood-such as the rush of endorphins- but there is also a great freedom in doing what you didn't think was possible. The expansion of possibility is liberating. It is an expansion of life.