Heart of America

• Prize
  Silver in Architecture/Aerial / Drone
• Photographer
  Nicholas Dunn
• Technical Info
  Drone, 8-sec Exposure, Stitched Panorama, Merged Shots 20 & 50 Min After Sunset
• Photo Date
  9/20/2025

In “Heart of America,” Kansas City takes its place as a living heart. I‑70 curves through the frame like a main artery, carrying the nation’s pulse toward the skyline. Headlights and taillights stream like red‑and‑white blood cells, feeding the core. The four Bartle Hall pylons mark the Kansas City Convention Center—commerce in circulation. To the right, the Kauffman Center carries music; nearby, T‑Mobile Center stands for sport. The highway vessel dives into the heart. This panorama shows a city circulating, reminding us the Heart of America isn’t just central—it keeps America moving at dusk.

Nicholas Dunn began photographing at age ten, inspired by his father and grandmother. From the Kansas plains to landscapes abroad, he developed a style rooted in abstraction, where nature reads like drawing or design. By eighteen, his work earned international recognition, including multiple honors at the International Photography Awards with a second place in Architecture/Historic. Through fire, water, ice, and land, Nicholas seeks to reveal the patterns and fleeting visions etched by the earth itself.