I Love New York

For most of my wedding photography career I have been the “wilderness guy”. It makes sense, I mean, that is who I am in my personal life but I do love good food and craft cocktails. Up until this shoot, I hadn’t spent much time in NYC and I am so grateful for this experience. I met up with JD and Emily outside of the MET for their engagement sesssion. We started with some photos inside the museum before embarking on a journey through Manhattan and Brooklyn. We explored various parts of the city via the streets and the subway. This shoot took place towards the end of the Covid pandemic and the city was packed. At some point Emily said “Woah, the city is really alive today” and although I didn’t know how this all differed from their experience during the pandemic, I could feel it too. There really is something uniquely electric about that city. The buildings, streets, rooftops, and even the air, felt as alive as all of the people around us.

We got “showtimed” by a performer on one of your subway rides. Apparently New Yorkers hate this stuff. I get it though. I think JD and Emily may have enjoyed it more because they knew I had never seen anything like it. Which, I also totally understand. I am often reminded of some of the unique aspects of my home by outsiders.

When I travel for shoots I often find myself shooting a totally different pace than when I am in Arizona. We spent most of our afternoon walking and chatting. Every so often, a unique location, some pretty light, or a composition would catch my eye and we would pause our adventure to snap a few photos. Here is a photo I snapped when we were simply waiting for the traffic light.

If you went to New York and didn’t eat any pizza, did you even really go to New York? As we made our way through SoHo, we stopped at Prince Street Pizza. Absolutely incredible.

We finished our shoot on a rooftop in Brooklyn. JD and Emily really liked the view of the city from their friend’s apartment building so we went there. Again, we stuck to a slower pace, enjoyed some wine and conversation, and wrapped up our shoot. While I do operate this all as a business, I am in this just as much for my own experience. I want to feel connected to and inspired by the places I go and the people I am there with. I’m thankful that this career has allowed me to cross paths with others that are chasing the experience.