Having been in New York City less than 24 hours, everything was still feeling extremely surreal by the time my first shoot came around. Scheduling my couples shoot competition winners on day 1 was done with the idea of easing me into things. It would also provide me with the opportunity to see quite a lot of the city in one day, helping me gather my bearings and effectively killing 2 birds with one stone by shooting and exploring at the same time.
It felt quite fitting that my competition winners weren't actually New Yorkers. At least, not from the city anyway. Brian and Sarah live a fair drive outside of all of the hustle and bustle and rarely get the chance to visit Manhattan, therefore this was as much an opportunity to do some sight seeing for them as it was for me. I didn't actually realise, but Sarah had been keeping an eye on my work for a while and as soon as I'd opened the competition for entries, an email was waiting for me within a matter of hours.
As arranged, the Foran's met me outside the Rockerfeller Centre. The plan was to experience 'Top of the Rock' and then to just go with the flow and see where we'd end up afterwards. They arrived along with their son, Brian Jnr. As you can see, he's a really cute kid who has bags of personality and seemed all too happy to have his photo taken.
To say that the weather wasn't kind would be the understatement of the year. During our eventful day we dealt with strong winds, rain, sleet and snow. The view from the Top of the Rock was 50% at best. Enough to put most tourists off from paying to go up there in the first place. If anything, it meant that we weren't having to fight through crowds of people to get some nice shots. No views were restricted and we were able to roam around freely.
After experiencing the amazing views, we went to get some much needed coffee and warmth at the Starbucks amongst the hundreds of shops which sit beneath ground level of the Rockerfeller. We decided that our next stop would be to try and get on one of the water taxi's before dark, which would allow us to see many more of the New York landmarks. We managed it, just. It was the last one of the day. Not many people were daft enough to be out on the water with it being this cold and wet. In fact, at the time of boarding the boat, I can only recall 2 other people being on there. Each of the remaining pick-up points only brought a handful of extras on board. All of which opted to stay inside the boat for shelter. They obviously didn't fancy being blasted by the elements out on deck! I absolutely loved it though!
I really couldn't have asked for a nicer family to photograph and spend time with on the first day of my trip. Not only were they super friendly and informative, but they were also incredibly interesting. Brian works as a videographer for a living so I had plenty to chat to him about and Sarah was so well prepared and full of ideas that it meant I could enjoy my day as a tourist and not just as the photographer.
By the time our day came to an end, the snow was coming down pretty heavily. My feet were numb. I was drenched, hungry and completely exhausted. I'm pretty sure the same can be said of the Foran's, but they were insistent on staying in Manhattan for a little while longer to make the most of their day. Despite the conditions, this was such a great start to my trip and I think we got some great photos. Below are some of my favourites. Hope you enjoy.
