Life behind the lens defined my Northwestern experience. By Josh Sukoff
During my first week at Northwestern, I marched through Weber Arch with my new classmates, holding a 360-degree camera overhead to document what I hoped would be the beginning of something extraordinary.
The experience that followed was remarkable. And all along, my camera served as my passport to new places and perspectives.
Within two weeks, it brought me to the sidelines of Ryan Field for my first Northwestern football game. I’d started out as a biology major with little interest in sports. So, naturally, I stood on the wrong end of the field. I was baffled when the play ran in the opposite direction, far from where I stood.
But the camera pulled me in and forced me to learn. Understanding the game made me better at capturing it — and I fell in love with sports. That passion pushed me deeper into Northwestern athletics. During a 2024 men’s basketball game, I navigated the catwalk high above Welsh-Ryan Arena. With every bucket, the crowd below roared, a noise so intense it rattled the steel beneath my feet. Few students ever set foot on that catwalk — but through a single frame, I brought others there. What the photo couldn’t capture was the pride I felt for our team and our school — an emotion shared by every Wildcat fan in the stands.
Drawn by opportunities in news photography, I eventually switched my major to journalism and applied to Medill on the Hill. By junior year I was in Washington, D.C., and even inside the White House, where I photographed some of the most prominent figures of our time. Watching my images move through the world made me consider a career in intellectual property law.
When I look back, the best moments I captured were the ones where I forgot I was holding a camera: Rushing to center court to capture the postgame celebration after men’s basketball took down No. 1 Purdue — not once but twice. Seeing the Northern Lights swirling high above Lake Michigan. Cheering with people I’d just met at Northwestern Dance Marathon as a six-figure fundraising total was revealed after 30 hours of dancing.
The one constant in my experience has been photography. With a Canon camera slung around my neck, I’ve chased every opportunity Northwestern had to offer — sometimes in the crowd, sometimes above it. That vantage point has shaped how I’ve lived these past four years.
Looking back, I realize I was always in the frame, living the story I was trying to tell.
Evanston campus, October 2025
This aerial shot, taken from a drone hovering 200 feet above ground, captures autumn at its peak. Saturated reds and golds frame Deering Library, with a sharply rendered Chicago skyline anchoring the horizon.
Welsh-Ryan Arena, January 2024
Shooting at one of my first basketball games for Northwestern Athletics, I had a fixed position on the baseline next to the Ohio State bench. At first I felt stuck and distant from Northwestern’s scoring action on the other end of the floor. Then the game intensified. The Wildcats sprinting back on defense came straight toward me, and I realized the value of my position: A long lens from the opposite baseline isolated the players’ emotions as they turned to celebrate. Here, Boo Buie ’23, ’24 CERT, hypes up the crowd.
The Lakefill, April 2024
Hundreds of people gathered outside to watch the partial solar eclipse. As the atmospheric light began to dim, the air felt cooler. Conversations quieted, then gave way to oohs and aahs as the eclipse slowly took effect. The sun itself was absent from the frame. I was more interested in the human experience — a community sharing a rare moment.
Northwestern Beach, May 2024
Yes, the sky actually looked like that. Lightning and heavy rain forced a weather delay during the 2024 Big Ten Women’s Lacrosse Tournament championship, and the final 96 seconds of the game had to be played indoors at Ryan Fieldhouse. Northwestern beat Penn State 14-12. I took this on the beach, just after the on-field celebration. My sneakers were caked with a mix of rubber pellets from the turf and waterlogged sand. When I turned back to look at the fieldhouse and frame my shot, the sky seemed to be throwing its own celebration.
Guild Lounge, Scott Hall, February 2024
These are the hands of a storyteller. George R.R. Martin ’70, ’71 MS, ’21 H returned to Northwestern for the investiture of his namesake chair in storytelling in the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. As Dean Charles Whitaker ’80, ’81 MS introduced him, Martin stood listening, hands clasped behind his back.
Deering Library, May 2023
I had settled into the library for a long evening of finals prep. Needing a study break, I stepped outside to stretch my legs — my tripod’s legs included — and captured a motion-blurred image of a student moving quickly across the frame.
Kyoto, Japan, September 2024
I took this photo during a Medill class trip. On a sweltering afternoon, we visited the Kiyomizu-dera temple grounds and paused on a wooded hillside path. The shade offered some welcome relief while I snapped this shot, looking across the ravine toward the Koyasu Pagoda and the city of Kyoto in the distance. The vermilion pagoda served as a striking focal point, capping the vibrant green canopy against an open sky.
U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C., March 2025
During Medill on the Hill, I attended President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber. I framed this shot through the closing chamber doors as the clamor enveloped Vice President JD Vance. As I photographed this, Republican Rep. Lance Gooden reached across the aisle, snatching a piece of paper from Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury’s hand and tossing it into the air. The text read, “This is NOT Normal.”
Clark Street Beach, May 2024
Just after sunset, as the light was fading, I held an external flash in one hand and my camera in the other. A group of graduating seniors gathered for silly portraits after a more formal shoot in front of Deering Library. One field hockey player brought the 2021 NCAA championship trophy. Someone said, “Let’s all jump.” I barely had time to increase my shutter speed. Thankfully, the flash froze everything mid-jump. I love how the trophy anchors the shot, and the leaping student looks as if he is surfing. We tried to see if we could nail the shot twice. We couldn’t. The first one had a spontaneity we couldn’t replicate.
University Hall, December 2025
While wandering campus after a fresh 4-inch snowfall on a clear, blue-sky afternoon, I found this snow-covered moped parked along a path. Its mirror was angled perfectly toward University Hall. I brushed away just enough snow to reveal the reflection. Looking at it now is like checking my own rearview mirror: My time on campus is right there, framed close-up, in perfect focus, even as it becomes something behind me.
Josh Sukoff, a senior from Oyster Bay, N.Y., plans to attend law school to pursue intellectual property law. He is a student content creator for the Office of Global Marketing and Communications.
Check out these related stories...
Driven to capture rare and unexpected images of fragile landscapes, Los Angeles-based photographer Josh Anon has had his share of awe-inspiring encounters with wildlife around the world. Anon, a Roblox product lead by day, has captured images of penguins, polar bears, walruses and much more.
Photographer and avid birder Collin Porter ’24 spent his days at Northwestern going on early-morning bird walks, during which he spotted 196 unique avian species on the Evanston campus. As he prepares to pursue graduate studies in ecological and evolutionary research and ornithology, he shares his photographs with the hope that they will inspire others to seek out and marvel at the diversity of birds, both on campus and beyond.
Conceptual artist Renee Royale combines art and science in her photography by submerging Polaroid photos in lake and river water. The resulting images resemble abstract watercolor paintings.
Reader Responses
No one has commented on this page yet.
Submit a Response