Review by Curator Michael Behlen:
"My second-place pick is Rolling in the Deep by Erica Reade. Her image showed exactly what I was looking for when I wrote the original call for entries. The individuals in the image appear to be making their own personal world just outside the confines of the general populace and by extension are able to be truly free. Though the rest of the world is just a few hundred yards away they seem to be in complete peace within the moment they are sharing together. It is a wonderful image that represents so much about today’s world that makes it an instant classic and a new personal favorite photograph of mine."

Erica Reade says, "Summer is my favorite season, and getting to the beach is my much-needed escape from the long work hours and urban hustle we endure as NYers.  I spend a lot of time observing NYC beach-goers; their bodies swaying in the waves, or splayed out half-asleep on sandy towels. There is something about being on the beach that emboldens couples to enjoy more affectionate freedom, their inhibitions less hidden than anywhere else I've observed in the city.

We are raw and exposed on the beach, stripped of our clothes, our makeup, our status markers. My involvement with my couples is one of an observer, recorder and sometimes, voyeur. Beach Lovers is a collection of intimate moments shared by couples I’ve observed at the beaches of NYC, with a focus on Rockaway, Fort Tilden and Coney Island. This series is about the small moments of tenderness between couples, whether sharing a wet embrace, long laughs, or a lazy limb-entwined nap on a beach blanket. 

I’m originally from Montreal Canada, and I have been in NY for 13 years. My background is in International Affairs and human rights, and I am now a full-time photographer.

I am the Founding Director of the NYC photography collective Camera of the Month Club, an artist member of SohoPhoto Gallery and a Nikon Scholarship winner at the Santa Fe Scholarship Workshops. I am also a beach bum and instant film lover. I am drawn to the ocean and my personal work is a reflection of that. 

I am fascinated by the juxtaposition of beach culture and landscape in the midst of NYC’s urban chaos. I have been working on Beach Lovers since 2015 and I am about to embark on my fifth summer of photographing couples. I am also in the midst of refining the series to create a photo book, with the intention of releasing it in 2020.

Recent highlights include making the leap to full-time photography in summer 2018, working with the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops on a pilot e-learning video series, and founding and growing Camera of the Month Club to a successful NYC photography collective."

http://www.ericareadeimages.com/​
https://www.instagram.com/ericareadeimages/

----------------------