VSCO has named the final 25 photographers for The Fifty, a nationwide project that places one photographer from every U.S. state on a large-format display in that photographer’s home market. The project’s roster of vsco billboard photographers spans every state.
The final group was selected from more than 13,500 submissions, the largest open call in VSCO’s history. The company says the lineup of vsco billboard photographers spans a wide range of disciplines, backgrounds and career stages.
The first group of vsco billboard photographers was announced in September. Their images began appearing on billboards in October, including on the NYSE’s digital billboard in Times Square.
California photographer Lin Bvtcher, whose project features women and their cars, described the moment in a statement. “A billboard in California, my home state, and now a billboard in Times Square is truly an experience I will never forget and one I am immensely proud of,” she said. “I never imagined that my little project featuring women and their cars would take me here but alas, it has.”
The newly announced vsco billboard photographers cover a broad range of subjects. Bob Miller’s The Last Generation documents generational knowledge disappearing from family farms. Cielito Mercado, based in Pennsylvania, examines how food and family recipes preserve cultural identity. Indiana-based Jingyin Che uses staged self-portraits to probe belonging within American institutions. New Jersey‘s Ed Kashi contributes work from a longer project on climate change and farm labor.
For another look at people across America, Eva Verbeeck spent years building a collection of intimate portraits. Eva Verbeeck’s six-year journey of 400 portraits shows how long-form projects can capture a country’s character.
VSCO CEO Eric Wittman framed the project as a way to extend the company’s support for photographers. “The Fifty takes that further by putting photographers and their work in front of potential clients and brands with the goal of turning visibility into real job opportunities that help them build the careers they desire.”
Miami gets its own activation
VSCO is bringing The Fifty to Miami before Art Basel Miami Beach opens in December. A four-week wheatpaste poster exhibition begins November 6 at 20 locations across the city. The posters complement the project’s Florida billboard, extending the reach of its billboard photography.
On November 7, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., VSCO will host a free community event. Florida’s selected photographer, Nat Segebre, will appear alongside Melina Deya and Deun Ivory. Paul Weaver, founder of The Freelance Photographer, VSCO’s professional education platform, will moderate. The panel will cover each speaker’s path from hobby to profession, the challenges they have faced and their defining “I made it” moments.
Meet the vsco billboard photographers by state
VSCO’s full set of 50 photographers is available on its website. The sections below cover a selection, using the details VSCO and the photographers supplied.
Alabama
Bob Miller is an American photographer and filmmaker whose documentary work has covered social issues in more than a dozen countries. He is also an Emmy-nominated cinematographer. The Last Generation grew out of the deaths of his grandfathers, which drew him back to his home state. He began the project as a reflection on his own agricultural family.
The photo shows Zoey Allen leaning on her grandfather, Jackie “Jackrabbit” Allen, while they noodle for catfish in the river behind their farm. Noodling means catching catfish by hand. The series follows young people and their elders as they decide whether to keep or leave a farming legacy.
Alaska
Marlena Sloss is a documentary photographer based in Juneau. Her work examines how people’s connection to nature shapes their sense of meaning. She has contributed to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian and The New Yorker. She holds an M.A. in Visual Communication from Ohio University and belongs to Women Photograph.
Her project “the Land said” asks what nature can teach people about the human experience. She traveled by van from Alaska to Mexico to photograph people whose daily lives and personal philosophies are rooted in the land. This photo was made on her grandfather’s Rolleiflex 3.5 MX-EVS with Kodak Portra 400 film. It was taken on an overnight wilderness trip with a stone age skills instructor.
Arkansas
William J. Hilliard works in Arkansas with a documentary approach, focusing on natural imagery and people. He has worked with editorial and commercial clients. His selected photo shows fly fishing, which he describes as a staple of the state and a habit he calls humbling.
Connecticut
Peter Mendelson is a fine art photographer based in Weston, Connecticut. His work looks at how people shape the places around them through structures, objects and everyday traces. He is represented by Jules Place in Boston, and his prints are held in private and corporate collections.
The selected image was taken at a marina in Norwalk during the off-season. Boats sat on stands for repairs, and their red and blue hulls created an abstract composition. The photo belongs to “New England Narratives,” an ongoing series about the region’s traditions and everyday details.
Indiana
Jingyin Che is a Chinese artist and educator based in Bloomington, Indiana, where he teaches studio art at Indiana University Bloomington. He earned his MFA in Photography there. His background includes a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from The Ohio State University.
The self-portrait comes from “Harmless: To Be Proven,” a series about suspicion directed at Chinese and Chinese American scholars in the United States. Che stages scenes in laboratories, classrooms and other academic spaces, places he once imagined as his future. The series asks how familiar rooms can feel unsettling when a person feels watched.
Kentucky
Maddie McCuddy is a documentary photojournalist who focuses on quiet, intimate and emotional moments in rural life. She is based in Harrison County, Kentucky, and Missoula, Montana. She holds a BA in photojournalism from the University of Montana.
The photo shows members of the Yoder family, who are Old Order Amish, playing softball outside their children’s two-room schoolhouse. It was taken on October 23, 2025, in Mays Lick, Kentucky. The image is part of the series “Where Time Stands Still.”
Street photography offers another way to read a place through its people and rhythms. Alex Webb’s urban photographs across 40 cities is worth a look for its vivid, layered compositions.
Maine
Savannah Daras is a Maine photographer who has worked for more than 20 years. Her practice includes self-portraits, portraits of others, digital art and videography. She says she works with color and nature, and that sharing her inner world through art matters most to her.
The selected image comes from a set shot at a local beach where she spent time growing up. Her model, Hattie Watson, appears in the frame. Daras points to the soft colors and bright sky as the reasons she chose this photo.
North Carolina
Robert Carl Swann is a multidisciplinary artist and writer whose work spans photography, video, poetry and creative direction. He has worked on editorial projects and has exhibited his work. His stories cover subjects from many backgrounds across the United States and abroad.
The image is titled “Fallen Angel,” made for “Othello and the Fall of the American Negro.” Swann says it reflects his connection to people he has seen suffering from drug use, a connection rooted in his upbringing in Washington, D.C.
New Jersey
Ed Kashi’s selected work comes from a larger project examining climate change and agricultural labor. His subjects range from the Kurdish people to oil production in Nigeria to aging in America. He is a contributing photographer to the VII Foundation, has produced 14 books and co-founded Talking Eyes Media with his wife, Julie Winokur.
Most of the workers are from Guatemala. The image belongs to a long-running project on how climate-driven heat stress affects manual labor worldwide. Kashi represents New Jersey in The Fifty, even though this photo was made in Florida.
Nevada
Mikayla Whitmore was born in Las Vegas in 1988. The queer artist and photojournalist works in photography, mixed media and installation. Their work explores space, landscape and reciprocity. Whitmore holds a BFA in Photography from UNLV, awarded in 2010, and belongs to Women Photograph and the NPPA.
The Fifty brings the work of these vsco billboard photographers to public view in their home states, and VSCO has set a clear test for the project. The company wants the exposure to turn into paid work, and the photographers’ careers will show whether it does.
Source: dpreview.com
Frequently asked questions
What is VSCO’s The Fifty project?
The Fifty is a nationwide project that places one photographer from every U.S. state on a large-format display in that photographer’s home market. VSCO says its goal is to turn visibility into real job opportunities for the photographers.
How many submissions did VSCO receive for The Fifty?
The final group was selected from more than 13,500 submissions. VSCO describes this as the largest open call in its history.
When and where is the free Miami community event for The Fifty?
VSCO will host a free community event on November 7 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Florida’s selected photographer, Nat Segebre, will appear alongside Melina Deya and Deun Ivory, and Paul Weaver will moderate.
When does the Miami wheatpaste poster exhibition begin?
A four-week wheatpaste poster exhibition begins November 6 at 20 locations across Miami. The posters complement the project’s Florida billboard and are timed before Art Basel Miami Beach opens in December.
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