THE END OF THE BEGINNING

You know how sometimes things can align so perfectly that you can’t quite believe it? Well, the story behind this image was one of those full circle moments that will go down in history for me. // It’s 11pm on June 15th 2015 and I’m standing on the edge of a rooftop overlooking Time Square. Only a few hours earlier I’d landed at JFK as I moved my entire life from London to take the next step in my photography career in New York. I hadn’t even begun to unpack, instead I left almost instantly with my camera to meet up with two friends I’d been chatting with before arriving. After we grabbed some food we arrived at our first location. We stood outside the entrance of the building, looking up to the 40 or 50 stories that towered above us. As I stood there, a strange sense of familiarity came over me, but I couldn’t quite pinpoint why. A few minutes later we were cautiously exploring the view that looked down to the bustling streets of Time Square. I moved slowly to the corner of the building and held my camera out over the edge, the adrenaline was vividly real. After taking the photo I sat down, I dangled my legs off and took a short moment to myself to appreciate where I was. It was at that moment that I realised why this building felt so familiar to me. I couldn’t quite believe it at first, but here I was on my first evening in New York, sat on the rooftop of what I realised was the same hotel I stayed in when my parents took our whole family to New York back in 2009. As I sat there the memories came flooding back, I was barely into photography at that point but I remember looking out the window of our hotel room in complete awe of the incredible view, and imagining how amazing it would be to live in a city like this. Fast forward and I was here, only a few stories higher dangling my legs off the edge, taking photos for a living, and on my first evening of living full time in New York. I felt a deep sense of appreciation and happiness, it felt like everything had finally aligned. Fast forward another 6 years and I’m here now presenting this piece of work for NFT NYC during a year that has been the most eye-opening and spectacular for artists and collectors alike. // Full circle complete and what you could call, the end of the beginning. //