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For Jack Larsen ’26, photography is about more than getting the shot. It is about capturing a feeling.

“I like being able to tell a story with just one photo,” Jack said. “I think that’s pretty special.”

Jack, a lifer who joined NSCD midway through senior kindergarten, has spent the past several years documenting the community he grew up in — from games and pep rallies to performances and everyday moments around campus. As one of the school’s first Nathan Simon ’25 Photo Fellows, he worked closely with school photographer Jonathan Gibby while building a portfolio through AP Photography and photographing events across campus.

“We meet once a cycle and look through my work and critique it,” Jack said. “A lot of it is about improving and finding your own angle.”

That idea — creating something distinct even when everyone is photographing the same moment — became one of the biggest lessons he took from both Nathan and Jonathan.

“If everybody’s taking the same photo, it becomes less fun and less interesting,” he said. “You have to find your own way to make it special.”

Sports photography quickly became a favorite. Capturing fast-moving action taught him to anticipate moments of emotion, triumph and reaction.

“You really have to look for the moment,” he said. “Usually at the end of games, when something exciting happens, that’s when you can really capture the emotion.”

Jack credits North Shore with giving him the confidence to take risks and try something new — advice he would now give his younger self.

“I would’ve started sooner,” he said. “I would’ve taken even more risks.”

At Southern Methodist University, where he plans to major in journalism and minor in photography, Jack plans to continue exploring photojournalism, whether through sports, news or travel storytelling.

“I definitely want to continue with photojournalism,” he said. “I just don’t know exactly where it’ll take me yet.”