Melbourne is a cultural melting pot. With a vibrant creative scene and thriving art community, it is a city filled with street art. A trip to the city with a friend led me to explore Hosier Lane.
Melbourne is a cultural melting pot. With a vibrant creative scene and thriving art community, it is a city filled with street art. A trip to the city with a friend led me to explore Hosier Lane.
So much has happened in the last 2 months. I left New York, moved back to Melbourne Australia, started a new job and reconnected with old friends. Relocating is always overwhelming and disorienting. It’s challenging – you can’t help but miss your friends and the lifestyle you had in the place you left behind. Yet its exciting; it’s time to reconnect with friends and family that you had missed when you were away and you are presented with new possibilities. It’s a great time to start things afresh. Although I am still going through this awkward period of readjustment, I’m looking forward to my next chapter in Australia and I am determined to make the most out of it.
I plan to document this new journey and share photos of this beautiful country along the way. Here are a few photos to start with for now.
Here are a few portraits of Farnoush I captured in my East Village home. I played around with natural light, movement and dashes of color.
Emotional rawness, accentuated by the stillness and solitude of the night.
Here is my portrait series of my housemate Shriya, taken on our balcony at midnight.
As part of my Computer Graphics certificate at Pratt, I’m taking a Lighting for Photography class this semester. As a freelance photographer, I’ve shot mostly outdoors with natural light. It’s great to finally learn about studio lighting. In yesterday’s class, we set up tungsten and strobe lights. Here are a few photos from the shoot 🙂
I used to stay awake at night dreaming about living in New York. In my idealistic, adolescent mind, it was a city of dreams; it represented freedom, opportunity and celebrated cultural diversity and artistic expression. I imagined a colorful city that was constantly on the go and full of energy and life; filled with interesting people who were driven, smart, talented and different from me.
This daydream was brought to life 4 years ago upon receiving my acceptance letter from NYU (thank you NYU and thank you parents!). And so, my New York chapter began at Greenwich Village, home to NYU, in 2012.
I vividly recall the mixture of emotions I felt when I arrived in New York for the first time during the summer of 2012; I was overwhelmed, anxious, scared (moving to a new city alone yikes), but most of all, incredibly excited. Excited for the new chapter ahead and all the colorful possibilities new beginnings bring.
I remember the first time I walked through Washington Square Park with my parents on a hot summers day. Despite the scorching heat, the park was pulsating with life and buzzing with energy. Music filled the air; there were jazz musicians and artists on every corner and the park was packed with NYU students, locals and tourists. I looked around with wide-eyed wonder.
Greenwich Village, often referred to as “the Village”, is the neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan. Greenwich Village is regarded as an artists’ haven, the Bohemian capital, the center of the modern LGBT movement, and the East Coast birthplace of ’60s counterculture movements.
Despite its popularity, Greenwich Village exudes an intimate, neighborhood charm. It’s packed with 24-hour dining, shopping and nightlife, yet remains personable, with ample greenery, low-rise brownstones and a plethora of boutique shops and specialty stores.
Having been acquainted with the neighborhood over the past few years, I’ve developed a list of my favorite spots and places worth checking out. Here are a few I recommend:
This quaint yet dynamic neighborhood celebrates culture, diversity and music. It’s filled with plenty of dining options, boasts a vibrant nightlife and exudes an idyllic and artistic charm. These reasons alone make it one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city. But what really makes a place special is the meaning and memories you attach to it. Greenwich village will always hold a special place in my heart because it is home to NYU, making it the birthplace of my dream of living in this city. I will look back at my days spent in this neighborhood with great fondness.
I’ve decided to start a photo series and commentary centered around the neighborhoods and cities I’ve visited. To kick off this passion project, I’ll begin with one of my favorite neighborhoods in New York – East Village.
I moved to the East Village last September. Over the past 6 months, I’ve enjoyed exploring all this eclectic neighborhood has to offer. The more I discover, the deeper my fascination.
The East Village — the blocks east of the Bowery between Houston and 14th Streets, was once considered to be part of the Lower East Side, but began to develop its own unique identity and culture in the late 1960s, when a flurry of artists, musicians, students and hippies began to move into the area.
The neighborhood has since emerged as a center of the counterculture in New York, and is regarded as the birthplace of several artistic movements, including punk rock and the Nuyorican literary movement. It has also been the site of protests and riots. Although in recent decades it has been argued that gentrification has transformed the character of the neighborhood, East Village is still known for its diverse community, vibrant nightlife (boasting the highest concentration of bars in the city) and artistic charm. Recent years have seen an influx of trendy bars, street art, boutique shops while an abundance of affordable eateries has made the East Village, the mecca for budget-minded foodies.
Here is a list of my favorite spots in the neighborhood:
Despite its grit and grime, East Village is a fascinating, lively and trendy neighborhood with a cult following. It’s culturally diverse community, plethora of food options, dynamic nightlife and artistic allure make it one of my favorite neighborhoods in New York, and quite possibly, the entire world.
“There is freedom waiting for you,
On the breezes of the sky,
And you ask “What if I fall?”
Oh but my darling,
What if you fly?”
― Erin Hanson
The snow storm didn’t stop me from going outside and having fun today! I had a great time walking around my neighborhood, enjoying the snow and picturesque views.
Here are a couple of photos I took at Tompkins Square Park. It looked like a winter wonderland:
It’s been a while since I’ve played around in photoshop.
As a lover of all things floral, I fused a portrait of myself with an image of flowers. I adjusted the opacity, played with the color balance and added some noise to create a grainy effect.
The result? Dreamy, vintage inspired imagery.