Washington

Washington is a strange city.   

The city is spread out over massive areas with vast swathes of space between everything.   It feels like it has been designed to feel epic but ends up just being a long walk in the park.
The museums are impressive, with the unique 'air and space museum' being the highlight, showing many pieces of the technology from the space race.

On one hand you have the museums and political buildings of the mall, on the other you have areas of poverty walking distance to the North.   You have immaculate streets with people made homeless after the housing crisis sleeping in them.   It is a bizarre juxtaposition of poverty in afluent neighbourhoods.
The city feels like it has been set up for politics and tourism but feels in some cases like it has neglected its citizens.  

Click here for the rest of the photos

NY - Photos

The never ending man-made skyline, thousands of buildings, signifying millions of lives.

Long streets that disappear to a point in perspective, passing through diverse neighbourhoods, both rich and poor.

Energy that seems to come from beneath your feet, like the smoke from the manholes, creating a charged atmosphere on every street corner.

People moving in every direction below buildings from the movies.

This city is a monument to America, to capitalism and the American dream. A physical realisation of the ideas of a young country in the process of designing its own history and mythology.

Why do people come to New York? Is it to be part of something bigger than themselves? Is it to become famous or to have the chance to become a big player in this massive city? There is the chance to make it to the top or go crazy trying. This city is clearly more important than any individual in it. The draw or appeal is to be a part of the buzz of this colossal place. It feels like the hub of the Western world and may very well be just that.

As far as the eye can see are structures, harking back to the photos of the high-rise construction workers balanced on beams above the city, eating their lunch. How many lives of men have gone into building this place? The skyline goes on into the distance in almost every way you look, emphasising the almost impossible feat.

There are massive gaps between the rich and poor but this seems to be an accepted part of life here and part of what makes America what it is. The chances and the opportunities are presented to be there for anyone to grasp. It asks everyone, 'Do you want to make it big?' and gives enough chance that many take the gamble. The poor never want to complain about this situation because they believe they can become a one of the rich and reap the rewards.

Walking the streets is energising. They go on forever in their grid structure but gradually, imperceptibly change and shift to take the form of new places. Diversity, a rich patchwork of cultures merged into one.

The surprises keep you moving in, forcing you to ask, ''What is next? What will I see around the corner? What will be there?'

A small selection of photos from the book NY here

NY - My New York Photobook

New York.   NY.   

I’ve finally finished my New York book, NY.  

At the end of July, I went over to America for a two week break with my family and girlfriend, and as always I took my camera. We headed to New York and Washington but once I arrived I realised that I would have to focus the book on New York due to the sheer amount of moments I managed to capture there.

My idea?   To capture the feel of the city in photos.   To give the flavour of walking through the place and trying to capture some of the atmosphere of being there.   To try to give my own perspective on the city.   To tell a story of a place.

Did I succeed?   Judge for yourself and have a look through the book (better to hit the full screen button at the bottom right of the viewer):

Pick up a copy here

If you want to have a closer look at a real one and see the rest of the book, you can buy it here or give me a shout and we can meet up to show you a copy.

This has been the toughest photography project to date, but I feel that it was worth it.   Making books makes total sense to me at the moment.   I’m currently more interested in a group of photos that tell me more about something than individual ones and a book is the best way to put them together.   

Keep a lookout for more blogposts showing selected photos from the book.

New York is an amazing place, I just wish I had more time.