These are real photographs. No AI was used, except for minor retouching.
#urbancouture
Made to expect the unexpected. To find greatness in the moment.
#urbancouture is the pulse beneath the pavement. For the ones who see poetry in concrete, greatness in grit.
Let the others do theirs; you do yours. Find yourself. Find.
#urbancouture is for the wild. For the ones who dare. Who walk where others fear, to touch the raw.
The Bronx
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Some corners of the Bronx still feel like a throwback to 1980s NYC. Gritty, raw, full of character. If you're looking for that vibe (like I was last weekend), you’ll definitely find it.
But honestly, what keeps drawing me back isn’t the nostalgia. It’s the people. The Bronx has a calm, welcoming energy that feels worlds away from the rush of downtown Manhattan. And it’s the greenest borough in NYC: almost 25% of its land is parks.
Just two hours of walking around, and it feels like a mini vacation.
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Rooftop catwalk
Urban couture walks the decks and runs its own show. Impatient, refusing to wait for a stage or a catwalk.
It talks through frames and fire escapes. They're like passports into parallel universes.
Rooftops are where buildings end but stories keep climbing.
Crossings
Lower Manhattan is home to two of NYC’s most iconic crossings: the Brooklyn Bridge, opened in 1883
and once the longest suspension bridge in the world, and the Manhattan Bridge, the more industrial sibling, built in 1909.
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600.000+ people cross just these two bridges on a typical day, and that doesn't include nearby bridges like the Williamsburg Bridge or ferry traffic.
At night, all that energy turns into a kind of stillness. Steel and light stretching across the dark water, the city’s pulse running quietly overhead.
I sometimes forgive.
But I never forget.
Is the human need for closeness an inherent part of our nature? Or is it a product of socialization, something future generations might no longer require?
90
I had the honor of photographing Robert Kelly, one of the great American poets of our time, on his 90th birthday at Bard College, where he spent over half a centuryshaping generations of writers.
Mahagony
I just couldn’t walk past Mahagony; she was behind me on the escalator, between two subway rides.
Two souls, one camera. No lights, no setup.
Just a spark. And pictures that stay.
When I first came to Cape Town and experienced its famous light, I thought: nice for sure, but other places have beautiful light particles too.
Los Angeles, for example. Or the Peruvian highlands. Or Zanzibar. And so on.
That changed the moment I looked through the viewfinder. It blew me away. Cape Town has the best light in the world.
And the most stunning models. In this case, @yourgirlyoyo_
CT Mermaid
Bazaar to Boardwalk
Coney Island is a microcosm: classic American pop culture next to Central Asian flavors.
Grab some fresh bread, pelmeni or pastries at legendary Tashkent Market (I’m calling it the best supermarket in NYC).
Then it’s blanket down, food unpacked. Sun, sea, and food with a view.
Sassy@CanalStreet
Reflecting on NYC, I can clearly feel how some places magically attract me. Without really being able to explain it. It’s pure feeling.
The diversity and tempo of the Canal Street subway station is simply incredible; it inspires me and gives me energy. Personally, it mirrors my attitude to life in NYC spring 25. Have a soft heart. But be New York tough.
Thank you lovely people for the session:
@amornay and @pdhumphreys. @sidsalamander. @izzys.room.
Time doesn't exist. Clocks exist.
3 million New Yorkers who don’t need rent control anymore. A quiet conversation over the river between what was and what’s still becoming.
The city ages and renews at the same time, we’re only passing through. But the layers we leave behind become part of the view.
The original First Calvary section was full by 1867, so three additional sections were added, making it one of the largest cemeteries in the U.S. From the cemetery grounds, you see a dramatic contrast: endless rows of headstones in front of the Manhattan skyline. Different eras staring each other down, both memory and future. Stone vs. steel, history vs. ambition.
NYC Mermaid
Pharao came to town 2 days ago, from down in Mexico. He sees himself as a shaman. So we are experiencing his cleansing here.
For me, today was also a kind of rebirth - I finally got my Nikon camera back. Fresh from Berlin.
NYC Pride March
88 degrees. Five hours. A million tiny acts of freedom.
Every glance, every outfit, every dance move: a deliberate expression of self,
​marching down 5th.
Laughter, music, protest signs, mothers holding their sons.​
Lovers on float tops, a thousand hands waving. The calm, radical confidence of a community that knows who they are. In a world where visibility is still a fight, Pride remains the stage.
And this year, like every year, the city showed up. Hard not to be moved. Hard not to keep clicking. Here’s to those who show up and shine.
Encounters in the city grid
What I love about NYC are those brief encounters in the middle of the city’s grid. Two paths cross, you notice each other, something clicks. And for a moment, you share a little piece of life. Then you move on, but somehow you carry a trace of that moment with you. You’re never quite the same after.
No one examines the result more critically than someone who knows the craft themselves.
Walter Krochmal is an absolute pro: actor, voice artist, linguist, and entrepreneur. A true grand seigneur of cinema. With his presence and poise, he was the perfect partner for a portrait session in Stuytown.
@bronxfilmcat | www.bronxworldfilm.org
Walter
It is always a pleasure to work with people who combine beauty and talent. @jourleighofficiel and I had actually arranged to meet for something else, but we ended up with these pics that show her amazing presence.
Jourdan @hartstudionyc
As the new kid in town, I wanted to understand what’s going on in the minds of the Manhattan people.
Luckily, I was living right on Broadway, just a block from Washington Square Park. The perfect spot to start observing.
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Throughout March 2025, I took one portrait a day, choosing people purely by gut feeling. Any time of day, any kind of weather.
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Washington Square Park
March_25
What made it truly special were the 31 conversations that came with those portraits, each one giving me a deeper sense of the city’s vibe.
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Some chats were quick. Others turned into long, thoughtful exchanges.
And of course, it all wrapped up with Mike - my very first NYC landlord.
