Coney in December

65 degree weather in December in NYC called for a trip to Coney Island. I ventured over to the new and improved viewing dock off of the boardwalk and found a whole fishing world in Coney Island that I never new existed. I stayed for a little while and just observed what was going on. The guys fished in silence. There were no side conversations. Just the sounds of the ocean, the fish hitting the deck and a little girls toy truck instrumental song looping and providing the soundtrack to the 20 minute photo sesh.  

An inspiring & exciting summer it was

Labor day weekend marked the end of summer. I think its appropriate to dedicate a little blog post to my summer since I have been a bit MIA for a few months. Obviously I've had my obligatory social media posts, but I've never been one to really get personal on the internet (besides photos)...so here goes nothin! 

I have had the honor/pleasure of working with Grace Bonney of Design Sponge on her 2nd book featuring talented women in the creative community. With a 2 month deadline on the book, I spent the summer photographing 70 incredible women around the country...the majority in New York, the East Coast, LA, San Francisco and a quick trip to Detroit. I snapped a ton of photos along my way, but didn't want to clutter everyone's instagram feed so a blog is the perfect forum to feature some highlights.

I traveled to some great places, met some insanely talented women, ate delicious foods, caught up with good friends and family, all while shooting a summer's load of weddings on the east coast during the weekends, packing my Brooklyn apartment up and moving (half time) to Cambridge MA, andddddddddddd trying to squeeze in some quality summer beach hangs. SO needless to say, if you haven't seen me in 3 months you now know why! 

It has been a crazy summer full of excitement, new experiences and people. Photographing for this book has been one of the most inspiring and fulfilling projects I've ever been a part of and it's definitely exposed me to so many new worlds within the creative/design community. Now that I'm finally back and settling in to my Brooklyn/Cambridge life, I'm missing the energy that came along with the book. This feeling is keeping me in check with my passion for creating- so many times i feel like I'm going through the motions with work and I forget to bring that energy and passion into my own projects. So my obvious next step is to work on something of my own. I have ideas kicking around- the next hurdle is actually scheduling the time to work on them...

I'm proud to say that this week I turned in all the final images for the book that will be coming out Fall 2016. SO stay tuned! 

Click the photos for captions if you wanna know whats been going on!

 

Chef Jean-Georges

sooooo. this happened. I shot Chef Jean Georges for Bonberi.

Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten in his NYC restaurant, Jean Georges. 2015

Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten in his NYC restaurant, Jean Georges. 2015

Jumping into these prestiges kitchens of Chefs Jean-Georges and Eric Ripert is pretty awesome. Not only do I get to see how the kitchen operates, but I get to taste everything.....and obviously its amazing. 

Chef Jean-Georges prepared an Asparagus Mushroom Vinaigrette - recipe and photos on bonberi.com .  Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot!


William Moseley for Teen Vogue

We had 1 warm day in the city a little while back, wedged in between weeks of brutal cold. I got lucky that one day and got to hang/photograph William Moseley. You may recognize him from Chronicles of Narnia and from the new show The Royals...suppppppppper nice/talented guy!!! More pics from our shoot below. 

Read up on William Moseley on Teen Vogue 

Duenas Sisters

The beautiful Maria and Bianca Duenas hosted a wonderful lunch for Bonberi. They made an incredible farro salad and told us all about growing up with Italian and Spanish cuisines in their household. Check out www.bonberi.com for their interview and salad recipe. More photos from the shoot below!



Sway Clarke II for Teen Vogue

For those of you that know me and my photography style, you know that there's nothing more that I love than a good ole' , raw, "this is me" black and white portrait. SO I was pretty pumped when approached by Teen Vogue to shoot that exact style of photo for their music series, SoundScout.

Sway Clarke II, Park Cafe, 2014.

Sway Clarke II, Park Cafe, 2014.

I met Sway Clarke II at an extremely crowded diner in midtown on a rainy day. People were lined up between the booths waiting for a table, and we managed to grab a seat and snap a few photos. Sway is such a great dude, with a fun, positive energy. We ate pancakes and fruit. 

Check out his interview and his tunes. http://www.teenvogue.com/entertainment/music/2015-01/sway-clarke-ii-interview


Chef Eric Ripert

This guy! We have all seen his face and drooled over his food. It was such an honor to be in the pristine kitchen of Le Bernardin in Manhattan photographing Eric Ripert.  

Unfortunately I chose the wrong pair of pants to wear that day and it threw me off the whole shoot. My button fell off..my pants were already a size too big, and I basically had to shoot 1 handed or in uncomfortable weird positions in a busy busy kitchen.  And if you have ever been in a NYC restaurant kitchen- it's probably the worst place for all that to happen... its a bit HOT, stressful and theres not much breathing room. Not to mention I was on a strict time schedule while I was there. SO, I was all over the place and would LOVE to get back in that kitchen and be able to shoot with both hands and not worry if my pants were going to fall down.

Now that you know my crazy backstory,  here are some photos of the infamous Eric Ripert in action! More about him on Bonberi

Nicole & Vanessa of Bonberi interviewing Chef Eric Ripert in Le Bernardin.NYC,  2014

Nicole & Vanessa of Bonberi interviewing Chef Eric Ripert in Le Bernardin.

NYC,  2014

Linda Rodin

I recently spent the afternoon with Linda Rodin, of Olio Lusso in her NYC apartment, shooting for Bonberi. I love going into people's personal spaces and documenting in the style of "a day in the life". I really get to understand and capture the subject in a comfortable space.

Linda is an incredible woman...she's inspiring to be around, and her home is a treasure chest. Definitely one of my top apartments I've ever been in NYC. Also, she loves her dog Winky...and so do I.

 

Linda Rodin, 2014. NYC

Linda Rodin, 2014. NYC

Familiar Faces: Steven Onoja & Coney Island

Steven and I met up last Wednesday in Coney Island to photograph two of his new summer looks. It was my first time being at the park early in the morning, and I have to say I LOVED it! The rides weren't open yet, the boardwalk was quiet and the beach was overcast and calm. Older men and women were chatting with their friends, cooling off in the ocean. Coney Island is an entirely different place before tons of people rush in to ride the Wonder Wheel and eat Nathan's Hot Dogs. We actually shot in the morning for scheduling reasons, but it ended up having an awesome effect on the shoot. 

Coney Island, you're alright... especially in the morning. 

Steven put together 2 dapper summer looks for the shoot. He has a classy way of mixing and matching pieces, always focusing on detail and color. He threw in his TEVAS for this look!!! So good!  Here are some highlights from the shoot. Hope you dig!

Check out Steven's blog for his take on the Summer Suit and more photo deets. 

St. Maarten destination wedding: BOAT DAY

A Looooooooooong overdue post. 

I was fortunate enough to accompany an amazing couple on their wedding trip in St. Maarten. They had SUCH a great group of friends and family there- I had a blast with them. One of my favorite days of the trip was the Boat Day. We sailed in a 65ft catamaran to Anguilla. We snorkeled, had a great lunch on the beach, went swimming.... ANNNNNND met Bankie Banx at the Dune Preserve (see posts below with more pics of him).

This is my favorite way of photographing- documenting whats going on with a different perspective. This was such a fun day with fun peeps- I hope to be able to do it again! (hint hint.... those of you getting married in a far away land... hit me up!!!!!)  

Great start to my day- blogging this and listening to Toots & The Maytals! Enjoy!

Nantucket

My friend's family invited us out to Nantucket for a few days. It was my first time there and I absolutely loved it. Heres what we did.

We had the ferry to ourselves on the way there and snapped a few shots for Huxter Goods...(check the sweatshirt). 

Rode Jeeps on the beach and caught an amazing sunset and got the jeeps stuck in the sand.

Went fishing and caught stripers and cooked them that night.

Got to hang with Ella, the cutest 2 year old ever.

 

Oil Change

I met this guy while getting my oil changed and taking his photograph made my day.

SunSlope Car Wash. 

June, 2014

Lone Smoker

I was flying out of the Princess Juliana airport in St. Martin and noticed a small smoking lounge with just one guy hanging, enjoying his cigarette and reading his book. Very rare you come across this these days.

Snapped a few through the window and decided to go in get dirty. He was a nice guy that happened to be on my flight back to JFK.