All about photo.com: photo contests, photography exhibitions, galleries, photographers, books, schools and venues.
FINAL CALL TO ENTER AAP MAGAZINE B&W: PUBLICATION AND $1,000 CASH PRIZES
FINAL CALL TO ENTER AAP MAGAZINE B&W: PUBLICATION AND $1,000 CASH PRIZES

Photo Book

Share

By Nat Ward

Publisher: powerHouse Books
Publication date: July 2025
Print length: 112 pages
Language: English
Price Range:
Nat Ward’s timeless photographs of Montauk’s most famous beach, Ditch Plains, tell the naked, unedited stories of who we are when the sand is a stage: sensual beings, social creatures, dramatic actors, those who want and wish to be wanted, those who look, and those who wish to be looked at. Featuring forty-nine panoramic photographs, Ditch: Montauk, New York, 11954 revels in a place where pleasure is paramount, divisions disappear, and everyone is welcome to crowd in together on the sand and stare, however impolite it may be. Legendary musician Rufus Wainwright and his husband Jörn Weisbrodt as well as writer Wayne Koestenbaum contribute heartfelt essays.

Stumbling down a makeshift path through a sand cliff in 2018, Ward found the crowded, raucous reality of Ditch Plains, Montauk’s most famous surf beach. It’s a place where families, surfers, retirees, artists and writers, social media influencers, contractors, landscapers, celebrities, and day traders all crush together on the rocky shore for a day. This books brings to light the high/low culture on a beach known for being a low-key celebrity hideout. Emblematic of a laid back fishing village that became swanky. It is a place where politics are more unseemly than naked flesh, where human pleasure is sought out in public view. Struck by this libertine opposition to antagonistic norms, Ward photographed the denizens of Ditch every day for four summers. In the process, Ward became a fully-fledged member of the eclectic tribe: a half-naked, long-haired character with a clown camera that no one could miss.

The photographs in DITCH: MONTAUK, NY 11954 navigate the trickier engagements of looking and being looked at: the epic sweep of multiple dramas playing out across the sand, the confrontations, the seductions, the freedom to be a body amongst other bodies splayed in public, the hints at desire and reticence, the skin, the sun, the heat, the salt, the slippages of masculinity and femininity performed, the lounging in a way that purposefully conceals or reveals, the unexpected and clarion gestures of children, the futility in the drive to hold on to youthful appearance, and the inevitable process of aging toward an entropic end.

Ward’s panoramas are inspired by the visual energy of American photographic masters Helen Levitt, Weegee, and Lisette Model, along with Italian Neorealist standouts like Vittorio de Sica’s The Bicycle Thieves and Rossellini’s Rome, Open City.

Legendary musician, queer icon, and long-time Montauk resident Rufus Wainwright contributes an introduction in collaboration with his husband, Jorn Weisbrodt, that provides insight into the history of Montauk and delves into the intimate, social, and psychological realities of the beach as featured in Ward’s panoramic efforts. And a signal afterword by renowned poet, iconoclast, and cultural critic Wayne Koestenbaum parses the visceral, sensual pleasure to be found in these images while also leaning into the idea that pleasure of this sort must serve as an inspiration toward a radical departure from the monomania and divisive strife of everyday life.
Our printed edition showcases the winners of AAP Magazine call of entries
All About Photo Magazine
Issue #56
Call for Entries
AAP Magazine #58 B&W
Publish your work in our printed magazine and win $1,000 cash prizes

Selected Books

Advertisement
AAP Magazine #58 B&W
Win a Solo Exhibition in July
AAP Magazine #58 B&W

Latest Interviews

Exclusive Interview with Trevor Cole: Pastoral Peoples and Practices
For this interview, we wanted to focus specifically on The Face of the Mundari and the wider Pastoral Peoples and Practices series. We spoke with Trevor about his long-term work among the Mundari, what continues to draw him back to their cattle camps, and the experience of documenting a culture whose identity remains deeply connected to livestock, tradition, and the natural environment.
Exclusive Interview with Frank Meo
In our latest exclusive feature for All About Photo, I speak with veteran photography representative Frank Meo about what it truly takes to build a sustainable creative career today. Frank brings decades of experience working with Fortune 500 companies, major agencies, and documentary photographers to the table. We dive into the critical business skills often left out of art school curriculums, the power of mentorship, and the inspiring evolution of PROJECTIONS—his international salon platform for visual storytellers. It’s an essential read for anyone navigating the commercial or editorial photography landscape today.
Exclusive Interview with Carolyn Moore
American photographer Carolyn Moore explores the inner landscape of emotion, memory, and personal transformation through a deeply intuitive photographic practice. Her work unfolds as a quiet dialogue between artist and viewer, where images become a space for reflection, vulnerability, and connection.
Exclusive Interview with Luca Desienna and Laura Estelle Barmwoldt
For over seven years, Of Lilies and Remains has explored the depths of the goth and darkwave underground, unfolding in Leipzig—a city long associated with a vibrant and enduring subcultural scene. Moving between iconic gatherings such as Wave-Gotik-Treffen and more intimate moments on the fringes, the project offers a rare and immersive glimpse into a world often misunderstood, yet rich in expression and community. Created by Luca in collaboration with Laura Estelle Barmwoldt, the work embraces a cinematic and deeply personal approach. Rather than documenting from a distance, it moves within the scene itself, capturing its atmosphere, its codes, and its quiet contradictions. The title Of Lilies and Remains hints at this duality—where beauty and darkness, fragility and strength coexist. As the book prepares for its release, we spoke with both artists about the origins of the project, their process, and what it means to document a subculture that continues to evolve while remaining true to its spirit.
Exclusive Interview with Matthew Finley
American photographer Matthew Finley turns inward, using photography as a way to explore identity, memory, and emotional truth. Based in Los Angeles, his practice moves between performance, gesture, and found imagery, creating a visual language that is both intimate and deeply personal
Exclusive Interview with Jan Janssen
Dutch photographer Jan Janssen explores universal human experiences through his long-term project It Matters, winner of the May 2025 Solo Exhibition. Begun in 2016, the series captures intimate moments of everyday life—love, loss, connection, and belonging—across Central and Eastern Europe. Working in countries such as Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, Janssen spends extended time within communities, building relationships based on trust and respect. His approach allows him to move beyond observation, revealing deeply human and authentic moments. Rooted in travel and personal discovery, It Matters reflects Janssen’s search for what connects us all in an increasingly divided world. The project is ongoing and will culminate in a photobook scheduled for publication in 2026.
Exclusive Interview with Henk Kosche
German photographer Henk Kosche turns his lens toward the streets of Halle an der Saale, capturing everyday life in the late years of the former German Democratic Republic. At the time, Kosche was studying design and exploring the city with his camera, drawn to the atmosphere of its industrial landscape and the quiet rhythms of daily life. His series Street Photography at the End of the 80s, selected as the Solo Exhibition for July 2025, revisits a body of work created just before a period of profound change. Rediscovered decades later in a small box of 35mm negatives, these photographs offer glimpses of a city and its people at a moment suspended between the familiar and the unknown.
Exclusive Interview with Anastasia Samoylova
Anastasia Samoylova is an American artist whose photographic practice is shaped by close observation and a deep attentiveness to place. Working between documentary and formal exploration, she photographs landscapes, architecture, and everyday scenes with a sensitivity to light, structure, and atmosphere. Since relocating to Miami in 2016, her work has increasingly focused on how environments—both natural and built—carry social, cultural, and emotional traces. We asked her a few questions about her practice and her way of seeing, to better understand the thoughts and experiences that shape her work—while allowing the images themselves to remain open and speak in their own time.
Exclusive Interview with Marijn Fidder
Marijn Fidder is a Dutch documentary photographer whose work powerfully engages with current affairs and contemporary social issues. Driven by a deep sense of social justice, she uses photography to speak on behalf of the voiceless and to advocate for the rights of those who are most vulnerable. Her images have been widely published in major international outlets including National Geographic, CNN Style, NRC Handelsblad, Volkskrant, GUP New Talent, and ZEIT Magazin. Her long-term commitment to disability rights—particularly through years of work in Uganda—culminated in her acclaimed project Inclusive Nation, which earned her the title of Photographer of the Year 2025 at the All About Photo Awards. She is also the recipient of multiple prestigious honors, including awards from World Press Photo and the Global Peace Photo Award. We asked her a few questions about her life and work.
Call for Entries
AAP Magazine #58 B&W
Publish your work in our printed magazine and win $1,000 cash prizes