I've been to New York quite a few times over the years because it's the place to be for photography and art. My trips have always been for fun and never for business. As a photographer, my fun meant taking photographs, eating good pizza, and people watching. This year I went for business to photograph New York Fashion week. WOW!
My last visit to the city and to Coney Island was in 2022 after COVID-19 ended. The vibe of the city had changed along with celebrity; the rise of the Influencers, and American culture. New York is now an extremely international city. As I walked through the bustling streets, I did not hear the rough New York dialect, instead, I heard German, French and Italian languages being spoken.
The city that never sleeps had also developed a cellphone side effect. A hypersensitivity to photography - with good reason. The natives either shield their faces or quickly drop their heads to avoid any camera. This triggered a surge of empathy from me because I was on 42nd Street taking a broad photo, and I thought, wow, living here must be invasive. The next day, in Central Park, the musician whom I've included in the gallery told me that I was the only photographer whom asked permission prior to taking a photo.
What I personally found disheartening was my visit to Times Square; the center of it all, that this year felt contrived, and kitschy. The nine-foot tall gorilla with the gold chain around it's neck didn't help. Dead Pool, the Grinch and Hello Kitty were in the Square, as were the Mickey Mouse characters, all pitching photos that no one was interested in buying, and who themselves didn't want to be photographed.
Taking it all in, the famous red stairs, the Sabrett food stands, and massive billboards were unchanged. An analog oddity alert; I noticed the only newspaper stand in Times Square. Intrigued by the aged and rusted appearance, I walked around to see who was still selling newspapers and periodicals in 2025. It turned out to be no one. It was a juice and snack stand.
This took me back to my first visit to Times Square. The excitement! The lights, the crowds, and the sketch artists all lined up with examples of their work peddling sittings, which I fell for, hook, line and sinker. I discovered that this year all the sketch artists with their posters, and tripods are now set up in Central Park. As well as the musicians. I didn't see any in Times Square busking.
So much has changed. My first invitation to shoot New York Fashion Week. To say that I was excited is an understatement. Like most people, I had always watched this yearly event through streaming clips and interviews. My preparation included homework, who were the designers, how to shoot a fashion show, professional etiquette, and industry documentaries.
I stumbled upon Hulu's In Vogue In the 90s. This documentary makes a very strong case of why the 90s were arguably the second golden age of fashion and creativity; from the clothes, to the rise of the super models, to the music. The doc made me envious that I missed the New York of the 90s. Not because it was a perfect time, but because the city had vitality and a soul. Now the city feels anemic. Watching the documentaries about Ralph Lauren, Very Ralph, In Vogue The 90s, Bethann Hardison's Invisible Beauty, Isaac Mizrahi's Unzipped and Zac Posen's House of Z, the 90s were a remarkable time.
Shooting my first New York Fashion Week was a learning curve and a positive experience. I was fortunate because the designers that I was assigned to were all so talented. The Made en Mexico group was gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous, and so easy to shoot because the production design made it impossible to take a bad photograph.
Sony Hall was a great venue, the staff was nice, and the entertainment was really good. I missed the first day hiccup because an ice storm stranded me in Pittsburgh. As it turned out there were too many people in the venue; the fire department arrived and emptied the building thus the first day got off to a late start.
My heart did sink a little when I reported an hour early as instructed, and the venue was already filled with photographers and media. Shooting was a lot of work in a cramped media pit with roughly thirty other photographers. I didn't want the same photograph that everyone else was set up to get so I moved and jockeyed a lot. In the end I was exhausted from the weight of my camera and the crush of people. Glamour never entered my mind.
I have so much respect for the OG film shooters who consistently brought back beautiful images, roll after roll, without the safety and luxury of 200 GB memory cards and Adobe Suite. Photography is not as easy as people with iPhones believe it to be.
My memories of New York, my fantasy of New York, and the new reality of New York are light years apart. The city is still a creative mecca filled with talented artists and it is still worth visiting, however it feels as if the secret sauce has lost a key ingredient.
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