Research, rowing and a Fenway sunrise: award-winning images from our campus photographers
Matt Modoono and Alyssa Stone tell the story of Northeastern through thousands of photos each year. Here’s how they got these shots, recognized by the University Photographers’ Association of America.
Every week, Matt Modoono and Alyssa Stone take dozens of photos documenting everything at Northeastern University — of student life and learning, research in progress, sports, celebrations and portraits of the university community. Their images are a trademark of Northeastern’s visual style, whether on website pages or blown up on banners, posters, and occasional wall murals dotting campus.
This September, the pair won an armful of awards from the University Photographers’ Association of America’s prestigious annual photo competition, including top prizes for their photo essays and a runner-up showing for Modoono in the “Photographer of the Year “category. Modoono was also selected as a featured finalist in PhotoShelter‘s Higher Ed Storyteller of the Year Awards.
We asked Modoono, NGN’s director of photography, and NGN staff photographer Stone about the ingredients that went into these winning entries — and got insight into their day-to-day processes, favorite images and tricks of the trade.
Photo Essay, “Science and research” (1st place)
About this entry: Modoono estimates that he and Stone have assignments for at least three NGN stories involving research every week. “It’s everything from detail shots to students, researchers or professors working in labs,” he says.
From that vast pool of options, these were his favorites.
“This is a collection I thought would stand out to the voters,” he says. “Alyssa and I push the boundaries here visually, by including gels and techniques to stylize our photography while keeping consistent with the brand.”
For the top center shot, inside an MRI tube, a functional machine couldn’t be used because the working magnets inside could potentially damage all the equipment involved. Instead, the shot was staged in a nonworking tube without magnets. The result is “a perspective that you don’t get to see a lot,” Modoono says.
Photo Essay, “Building Champions” (Third Place)
About this entry: “This is the type of work that I enjoy — being out in the field,” Stone says of her series documenting a sunrise rowing practice.
For an NGN feature about longtime Northeastern women’s rowing coach Joe Wilhelm , Stone hit the Charles River with the team before 6 a.m. on a crisp October morning. The venue and the changing light throughout the morning lent itself to a wide range of shots, from dawn views of the Boston skyline to wood-paneled portrait shots in the team’s boathouse.
“It had a good variety of stuff: some details, nice portraits, a lot of motion,” she says. “It was actually not the morning I was hoping for in terms of lighting — I wanted some harsher shadows. But it panned out just fine.”
News and College Life (1st place)
About this photo: Event coverage is a huge part of a campus photographer’s job, but the best photo ops often happen before or after the events themselves. That was the case for the shot below, taken at the Bouvé College of Health Sciences spring commencement.
“I probably took 100 shots of this exact frame,” Modoono says. “I’m shooting through family members’ heads here, just waiting for the right moment, and a graduate just happened to pass right where I wanted.”
“I love a good silhouette” he adds. “It’s not something you see too often.”
Photo Essay, “2025 Commencement” (Fourth place)
About this entry: Northeastern’s Fenway Park commencement is a marathon day for Modoono and Stone. It typically starts around 4:30 a.m., when they arrive to get shots of the sunrise over the ballpark.
“Alyssa and I get up on the roof to team up on it.” Modoono says. “That way we can get the sunrise from different angles.”
The sunrise is one of a long list of photos they need to be sure to get throughout the day — including featured speakers, performances, cheering crowds and fireworks. And they’re always on the hunt for the “great moments” in between, Modoono says.
“I look for great lights, and we push the boundaries a little bit with things like multiple exposures, or shooting into the light to [create] a sun flare. So it’s those big moments and artistic visuals all pulled together.”