Yes, I am excited to announce that it is available as a hardcover book worldwide!
Front Cover:
Back cover:
I am proud to say that the printing is impeccable. I have not only included my writing but also the camera settings, cameras used, and locations for each photo …
The book is published by Ilex Press, an imprint of Octopus which is under Hachette.
Any book events or signings coming up?
Of course!
The official one will be a book launch by Sony here in NYC. Stay tuned for info on the date.
There will be other book signings and events around Manhattan and Brooklyn as well.
What’s the story behind this book?
I have been photographing every snowstorm in NYC for the last 6 years. I walk up to 8 miles at a time through blizzards, nor'easters, and all sorts of snowstorms. I am forever trying to capture the feelings of loneliness, isolation, anxiety , longing, and nostalgia that are felt as a New Yorker.
I have always been intrigued by time, mortality, desire, and memory. Snowstorms are when all of these feelings and concepts surface.
I paraphrased and read the intro to this book in explore what snow in New York City means to me (plus there are snow sounds and nothing is better than the sound of snow crunching underfoot) …
What’s your story? Where are you from?
I grew up here in New York City in Queens. My family was quite poor and my parents both moved to America to pursue better lives when they were younger.
In 2008, I was extremely broke and had very little money. I was also stressed out as I had quit my job to go back to school to finally finish the degree which I had abandoned nearly a decade earlier because I needed to work many jobs to support myself.
Living on my own since the age of 17 years old with no family support or safety net put me in the precarious position of working many jobs to keep myself afloat while living in New York City. I worked 7 days a week for quite a while and decided I needed to make a change in my life before my life passed me by and I barely explored my passions.
It took a huge leap of faith to put myself back in school. But I did. I decided to go back to school pursuing a pre-med path.
Without much in the way of material things or financial prosperity, walking became my number one way to deal with stress. It also became a way for me to experience the city like I hadn’t before. I would choose a direction and walk as far as my feet would take me; I still do this.
My walks opened my eyes to a New York City that I hadn’t experienced before. I knew that I wanted to capture the moments and experiences on my walks that made my heart swell. However, I was so broke that I couldn’t even afford a smartphone or a smartphone plan. I went on Amazon and purchased the cheapest point and shoot I could find. At $79, it was a huge investment at the time. That humble little camera had one button and a few settings (one of which was broken!). I didn’t care though. I finally had a tool to explore my view and vision of New York City.
In 2009, I decided to finally post the photos I had accumulated along the way online. I knew nothing about posting photography online and had heard that blogs were a great place to post photography. I literally googled the word “blog” one evening and Tumblr came up as the first search result. I decided to create my blog, NY Through The Lens on Tumblr purely for myself as a way to view my collected images in a beautiful way online.
Since I had no formal training in photography or in-depth knowledge of the rules and concepts defining the field, it didn’t occur to me that I’d have an audience for my work. I honestly didn’t think that anyone would be interested in what I was posting online to my Tumblr blog. However, within a few months of posting my photos to Tumblr, I amassed close to 70,000 followers and I was both humbled and touched by the messages I would receive on a weekly basis.
Most of my photography is heavily influenced by cinema, music, and other art forms as I have a background in fine art (painting and art history).
I am also endlessly haunted by a deep longing for a place that is unidentifiable but somehow familiar and indicative of what can be seen as home. I am on a never-ending quest to try to imbue my photography of Cities and landscapes with this complex notion Of nostalgic longing.
I am fascinated and interested in exploring how certain tones can produce feelings of different forms of nostalgia and how color or lack of color influences memory and desire.
I am currently a full-time photographer who is sponsored by Sony and my first book was a best-seller. It released In 2014. You can read about it Here .
I do commissioned work for Hollywood, television, ad agencies, interior designers and also sell my work as prints (and tapestries and much more) here:
I Also Recorded A Little Teaser Of Me Flipping through my book today in case you are into that kind of thing (I am!) …
It’s my most vulnerable photography because it’s my life’s passion. It feels a bit like sharing a deep secret with the world.
Dreams are always fun to share.
Hope you enjoy these dreams.
It’s OUT!!!!!
It is officially out there! My book just released everywhere.
This was my huge passion project and the result of 6 years of walking 7-9 miles through every blizzard, nor'easter, and snowstorm and I have all of you to thank for this for supporting me through this.
So, thank you. Sincerely.
If you get the book and feel like it, a review would mean the world :)
Off to Snoopy dance all day! (ok, also maybe ice cream which will be intense considering that I haven’t eaten added sugar in anything for ages :) )
