New York is a city like no other, a city I fell in love with over half my lifetime ago. I remember as a child New York was one of the first things I learnt about the US - it was everywhere! In the movies, on TV shows, the news. Before I understood what America was, I knew NYC. It was center of the universe and from a very early age I was intrigued by the city.
The first photo I ever took of NYC in 1996.
I first visited in 1996 during my cruise ships years when the MS Veendam was visiting the big apple. I headed to the decks as we cruised into Manhattan to watch with bated breath for the first glimpse of the iconic skyline that is the concrete jungle. I also saw Lady Liberty for the first time and like many others I realized she is much smaller in real life - but still the biggest symbol of freedom for the US and beyond.
This first visit was filled with limited experiences around the city, but the energy, diversity and pulse of the city was evident - and I knew I wanted to return.
It was several years later when I visited again with my family and then a few years later for my 40th birthday when I started to wonder what if? What if New York was my home? Well after a few more years of manifesting it and a few false starts I arrived in 2019. Immediately, the excitement and adrenaline of being here hit me and I knew I was addicted, and while it felt like an impossible affair, I knew this wasn’t a short term love story - it was a love that was here to stay.
The best part of living in the most amazing city in the world and a photographers dream is that I’m walking distance from some of the most iconic sights in the world. Times Square, Central Park, The Hudson River and the iconic NYC Skyline. I will never tire of photographing this city.
New York is a city I always knew I’d love once I was given the chance to enjoy her for more that just a few careless nights here and there - it really is the city of my dreams and the city that for now I couldn't be any happier to call home.
Even though this city will likely never be my home forever - it will always be New York or nowhere…
