“I am a photographer whose work integrates photography and sculpture, creating a narrative that explores the intersections of place, identity, and memory,” explained Morgan Hesse, a growing photographer.

Hesse has been interested in photography ever since she was a little girl. Her first camera was her grandfather’s 35 mm film camera that was passed down—first, to her dad, then to her. A love of photography was sparked with this very piece of equipment.

Through Hesse’s photography, she aims to explore themes of family and her small-town in North Carolina. “Growing up in a small Southern town has led me to reflect on my own position within it; how I can be both a product of this place and, at times, feel like an outsider,” she explained. “This question has shaped the core of my creative process, compelling me to examine how one’s origins influence their beliefs, relationships, and sense of belonging.”

“I took a darkroom class to see if [photography was] something I wanted to do. And after the first assignment, I fell in love with it,” she said, recalling when she first started really experimenting with the process. “Then I changed my major to that, and now I’m going to go get my master’s at East Carolina University.”

Since Hesse took the class, she has published numerous photo stories and photographs on her Instagram page and her website. She also develops the film in her own home, applying the skills she learned in her darkroom class. “It only takes me about 20 minutes or so to develop the pictures,” she said.

Her means of capturing photos has also evolved. “Now I use a Canon X,” she said. “It’s a mirrorless camera, or a Canon EOS X.”

One of the works she is most proud of is her “Those Known To Me” photo series. “That one’s about my family,” said Hesse. “[It’s about] not knowing these family members, but only knowing them through stories that are told at family gatherings. And with that one, I work with archival images and found photos and documentation photos of my family. So it’s a big mix. There’s some film stuff, there’s digital, there’s a mix of everything. I’m very proud of that one.”

This photo gallery that Hesse created blends as an honor to her support group: her family, friends, and professors. “I think for me, it’s a mix of people like my family,” Hesse said. “They’re pushing me to keep going, and I’m very thankful for that— for them to be supportive of my art journey. And my professors, too. They have really pushed me to keep going. They are very proud of what I’ve been doing, and my old professors [tell me], ‘I’m living vicariously through you, like studying abroad, going to grad school, living these experiences.’”

Hesse doesn’t have a specific specialty in photography, but she enjoys a mix of landscape and documentary. “I don’t do traditional portraits, I do more like candid, street-photo-documentary type stuff. And then I do a landscape, so it’s a mix of everything. Mostly some types in which I can incorporate documentary photo with [landscape] is something I’m kind of messing with right now.”

As Hesse continues to document and explore different areas of photography, she is mostly focused on the social landscape: how people were raised and how that influences relationships.

Hesse also enjoys both colored and grayscale pictures. “Some photos work better when they’re back and white, and some don’t,” Hesse explained. “I prefer more of a contrasting photo that has deep shadows and high highlights.” Hesse uses programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Camera Raw. These applications allow her to build the highlights and contrast on her photos without doctoring them too much, or taking away the value of the original raw photo.

Hesse also brought her camera with her during a summer session studying abroad in Florence, Italy. She said, “I studied abroad last summer. So, I took [my camera and gear] with me. I tried to try to document this stuff over there.”

While traveling provides Hesse with a different surroundings, she considers herself more of a freelance photographer. “I don’t want to shoot events that often, but if it’s something I need to do, I will do that,” she said. Hesse also focuses on the small-town events, her latest shoot being from the Fourth of July celebration in North Carolina.

Hesse also added some encouraging words for new photographers just learning: “I would say experiment. There’s different processes, different types of photo that you can do alternative process… there’s so many types. Just experiment, see what catches your interest, and then just go with it. Just keep at it, don’t give up. It gets frustrating sometimes, but that’s part of the process.”

Hesse’s work is available on her website and her social media.

Photos courtesy of Morgan Hesse | Interviewed on July 22, 2025