{"id":30052,"date":"2014-08-24T19:13:55","date_gmt":"2014-08-24T17:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hipstography.com\/?p=30052"},"modified":"2014-08-24T19:13:55","modified_gmt":"2014-08-24T17:13:55","slug":"an-empire-state-of-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hipstography.com\/en\/news-en\/an-empire-state-of-mind.html","title":{"rendered":"‘An Empire State of Mind’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"nyc_eric_01\"<\/a>My first visit to New York, in 1991, was literally a case of \"love at first sight\". I fell in love with this most beautiful, cosmopolitan city, steeped in the most unique energy I have ever experienced. Since then, I have been back many times, but this year, I had a special reason for visiting New York\u2026 Hipstamatic<\/strong>. I got in touch with a group of hipstographers, with whom I had regular contact through Hipstography<\/strong>: Grace Brignolle<\/strong>, Lori Hillsberg<\/strong>, Sheldon Serkin<\/strong> and Justin Sheps<\/strong>.
\nI was to meet Grace<\/strong> and Justin<\/strong> on Tuesday, August 12th around noon, at Grand Central. Lori<\/strong> and Sheldon<\/strong> being at work, they would join us later.<\/p>\n

\"nyc_eric_02_apple\"<\/a>On Tuesday morning, before meeting Grace and Justin, I made my way to NY\u2019s most famous Apple Store<\/strong>: the cube on 5th Avenue. Aside from the contents of the store, it is the ideal spot for tourists who can only connect to the Internet wirelessly. Even though Wi-Fi is available in just about every corner of the city, this Apple Store really is a must-see: there are many clutter free tables with chairs, so you can actually sit down and get some work done. I decided to use Cinamatic<\/strong> and within minutes I had published a video<\/strong><\/span><\/a> on several social media sites. I used the opportunity to check my email and post a few pictures on Facebook, when suddenly, someone approaches me and asked: \"Are you Eric Rozen?<\/em>\"<\/p>\n

Needless to say, I burst out laughing when he introduced himself as Todd Pruzan<\/strong>, a hipstographer whose work<\/strong><\/span><\/a> has appeared on Hipstography<\/strong>. He was a stone\u2019s throw away from the Apple Store when he saw my video online and decided to come and say hello. Thanks for the surprise visit, Todd!<\/p>\n

\"nyc_eric_02_justin_grace\"<\/a>I quickly made my way over to Grand Central, NY\u2019s main train station, where I had agreed to meet Grace<\/strong> and Justin<\/strong> under the famed clock. The timing couldn\u2019t have been more perfect, as all three of us showed up simultaneously and it was an enormous pleasure to get to know these two hipstographers, whose pictures I publish regularly. We decided, there and then, to start shooting while we got to know each other. What a joy to be able to chatter about Hipstamatic<\/strong> without restraint! Few of my friends back home actually use Hipstamatic and seem to get annoyed when I start \"going on\" about it. ;-) Grand Central is a magical place for photographers, with thousands of travellers passing through on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

I even spotted a wedding and Justin<\/strong> explained that it\u2019s quite a common occurrence here: many people actually met each other at the station and young couples come back on their wedding day to eternalize that precious moment. We headed out onto the streets\u2026 to take pictures, of course.<\/p>\n

\"nyc_eric_03_short\"<\/a>I honestly didn\u2019t know where to look first; the streets of New York are brimming with subjects! All of a sudden, Grace<\/strong> noticed a young girl wearing very short shorts. Grace loves legs; so all three of us immediately started photographing the unsuspecting model, who was completely unaware of the three people, behind her, practically lying on the ground taking pictures of her gorgeous legs.<\/p>\n

During the process an elderly lady came over, looking at us rather disapprovingly and just said: \"Don\u2019t do things like this.<\/em>\" OK, we promise, we won\u2019t do it again. ;-)<\/p>\n

We had decided to meet Lori<\/strong> around 5\u00a0pm, in the neighbourhood of the famous \"Flatiron Building<\/strong>\". As she approached us, Justin<\/strong> and Grace<\/strong> walked towards her to say hello, but she just pushed them aside, saying: \u201cI don\u2019t need to say hello to you guys, I want to see him!!<\/em>\u201d as she threw herself in my arms! Pleased to meet you too, Lori<\/strong>. Being around Lori is a bit like being in an episode of \u201cSex and the City<\/strong>\u201d. I love it!!! We decide to go for a drink in a bar right on the top of a tall building, where Sheldon<\/strong> joined us. So, I finally got to meet a hipstographer of whom I can seriously say I am a huge fan! His, mainly black-and-white, photography is just sublime. Our little group was now complete and it was time to celebrate the moment with pictures. That said, the view of the Empire State Building was quite something too.<\/p>\n\n\t\t