Middletown Man's Photo Won Tourism Guide Contest: How He Got The Shot

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Middletown resident Nick Zaremba's photo was selected as the winner to appear as the cover photo of the 2025 Monmouth County Travel Guide.

His photo was selected from hundreds of submissions. Look for the 2025 travel guide in tourism spots throughout Monmouth County, or you can order your own through MonmouthCountyTourism.com.

Zaremba, 28, has lived in Middletown since he was 4. He grew up across the street from the Middletown ice rink, and went to Village Elementary, Thompson Middle School and Middletown South.

His stunning photo of a single umbrella with waves crashing on the shore was taken in early June 2024 at the town beach in Sea Bright. He took it using a drone called a DJI Mini 4 Pro, which he says is a relatively small drone but has wind resistance up to 25 miles per hour.

"That's important when you are shooting on the Jersey Shore, which can get pretty breezy," he said. "I launched the drone from the main public pavilion in Sea Bright, and the jetty pictured is the first jetty on your left if you are facing Sandy Hook and the Manhattan skyline. I was trying to get the shot before the beach got too crowded later in the summer."

"It was a sunny day and I was trying to capture the exact right moment when the wave broke on shore. The way the waves break changes the entire feeling of the photo. I like the single person pictured and I like the way the rocks feel like they are protecting the person from the water. So it's very turbulent. But if the wave was retreating it wouldn't feel as interactive with the umbrella and subject."

Zaremba is a professional photographer. He takes newborn photos with Bella Baby, which is contracted with many of the Hackensack hospitals; he mainly works at Ocean University Medical Center in Brick.

But his main passion is landscape and street photography. Zaremba said he loves heading out and capturing landscape shots.

"I go out and fly the drone as a way to relax from my regular photography job. I find it meditative almost," he said. "I feel the camera really allows you to start seeing the world and observing little things that a lot of people overlook."

His interest in photography started in his late teens — after several close friends he grew up with in Middletown died.

"I had a couple friends who passed away tragically and unexpectedly, and I kind of wished I had more moments of them captured to look back on," he shared. "So I stole my older brother's camera and started bringing that everywhere. It quickly evolved to falling in love with the craftsmanship of photography and wanting to learn more about it."

"I always look at photography as a way of immortalizing an individual moment in time. It's a way to truly capture something in an earnest way. Other art forms, such as painting, are influenced by the artist. Photography is not. It's truly drawing with light."

Zaremba's Instagram handle is @nickyzaremba if you want to see more of his work. He is currently re-building his photo website.

"I would really like to get to the point where I can sell prints," he said.

"Nick’s photo captures one of the many ways residents and visitors can enjoy Monmouth County," said Monmouth Commissioner Director Thomas Arnone, who noted that Monmouth County has 26 miles of beaches.