/ 2026 / Press / Travel/Tourism

• Prize
  Honorable Mention
• Photographer
  Dian Chuen Cheng, United States
• Date of Photograph
  January 5, 2026
• Instagram
  ioh_d.dc

At sunrise, an ancient city awakens beneath a sky filled with drifting balloons. Bathed in the first light of day, Teotihuacán emerges from the haze as a landscape where the remains of an ancient civilization and modern life coexist beneath the same horizon.

Floating above its pyramids and avenues, I found myself within the very sky that generations before me once gazed upon, a realm intertwined with their beliefs, rituals, and visions of the divine. For a moment, I found myself in a place once imagined as part of the heavens.

Here, past and present meet, suspended between earth and sky.

I’m currently a master’s student in Boston. When I graduated from college, my father gave me his old A7R3 as a graduation gift. And that’s how my journey into photography began.

This is now my third year behind the camera. I’m still learning, exploring, and discovering new ways to see the world through photography. I’m grateful to be part of this community and excited to share and to learn from fellow photographers.

Awards N/A