Over the summer I traveled to NYC to meet a group of online photography friends that I’ve known for over ten years and it was the most incredible experience! Being able to wander and talk and laugh with these ladies was everything my heart needed. As Staci and Maite shared in their respective posts here and here, this trip was a dream. I brought along my Pentax k1000, a roll of 35mm Lomography Turquoise, and the setup I needed to shoot both sides of the roll. Camera in hand, I was ready to venture through the streets of NYC with this beloved group of friends.

One of the things I love about both experimental and street photography is how it allows me to document my experience of a city. I sometimes struggle with finding words to express how I feel, but I can almost always find that feeling through my lens.

“I find it strangely beautiful that the camera with its inherent clarity of object and detail can produce images that in spite of themselves offer possibilities to be more than they are … a photograph of nothing very important at all, nothing but an intuition, a response, a twitch from the photographer’s experience.” – Joel Meyerowitz

“We think of photography as pictures. And it is. But I think of photography as ideas. And do the pictures sustain your ideas or are they just good pictures? I want to have an experience in the world that is a deepening experience, that makes me feel alive and awake and conscious.” – Joel Meyerowitz

I, too, want to have a deepening experience in the world, that makes me feel alive and awake and conscious. I want to be able to see the multitudes of a city and of it’s humanity. I want to witness the layers of beauty unfolding on every city sidewalk. I want to be astonished by the everyday moments.

What I love about photography is that I can look at an image and remember with vivid detail the sounds, the smells, the feel of the breeze on my face (in this case triple digit heat), the conversation, and the feeling I was experiencing. It all comes rushing back to me.

What I’ll remember from this trip: gratitude for being together, endless conversation, harmony as we ebbed & flowed throughout the weekend, laughter, shared curiosity, long hugs as we said our goodbyes, an enormous amount of love for each other, and promises made to meet up again.

I encourage everyone I know to travel out into the world; solo and group adventures are both rewarding. I hope you travel with a curious mind and a camera. I hope you find your own deepening experience. I hope you’re astonished.

~ Laura