Monday was the last day of Mark’s lighting course…which I was definitely not ready for. This was one of the things I really enjoyed at ICP and wished that it could have been much longer. After the class, everyone in it gushed about how great they thought he and his teaching methods were and I had to agree. I would love to be able to work with him more!

After the class, a few of us decided that we couldn’t part just yet so we went on a search for some Pinkberry frozen yogurt. After talking and walking for what seemed like forever, we realized that we had gone in the complete wrong direction and that we were just wasting our time…the little time before we parted to go home, however, was really great to have!

Tuesday, Mark was awesome enough to let us come check out the photo studios at the Met where he works! I was so impressed with the amount of space that all of the photographers had for shooting. Also, it was incredible to see the amount of intricacy they put into preparing the sets for shooting other art pieces. Their jobs seem incredibly tedious but also really rewarding. It was also really awesome to see Mark again before we left. I really appreciated the effort he put into letting us know that we could contact him for anything. He was really someone who wanted/wants us to have really amazing, educational experiences. It is really great to meet other people who work hard to give others, even those they barely know, amazing opportunities. Hope to see Mark again soon!

Wednesday was another highlight day from my time in New York. I started the day by meeting up with Rayon Richards to assist on another on of his shoots. When I arrived, Rayon told me that we would be shooting Orianne Collins in her store, the OC Concept Store.  The OC Concept Store is a “luxury boutique” filled with interesting home accessories, art, jewelry, and much more.  This is definitely the place to shop for the people who have everything. I was so blown away with how Orianne and her assistant ran the business. These two women were completely inspiring to me. Not only does Orianne run these stores, but she also has three young boys, is a black belt, helps run a non-profit, the Little Dreams foundation, with her ex-husband Phil Collins, and much more. This is a woman who can do it all and more importantly, does it all beautifully! (or at least seems to!) I wish there were more women…really just humans in general… that were as driven and lovely as Orianne seems to be. This shoot was a really great and inspiring way to finish off my time in New York. 

It was also really great to spend a bit more time with Rayon before leaving. I can’t begin to express how much I appreciated Rayon taking me out to shoots and giving me fun AND educational 🙂 things to do in New York.  He is also one of those rare individuals who exudes so much passion for everything which was so wonderful to be around! I wish that I could be his assistant all the time! 

Photo by (c)Rayon Richards

After the shoot with Rayon, I had a delicious lunch with Leigh before heading to Rodeo Ruby Love’s show in Times Square!

Finally, the boys arrived at their show at the Best Buy Theater smack dab in the middle of Times Square. It was really exciting to have them play right where I have been working/living for the past few weeks! Always nice to have a little friend fix in New York too! Per usual, it was another great night of music from Rodeo Ruby Love, New Riot, Streetlight Manifesto, and Reel Big Fish!

After a late night in the city, I headed in for my last day at ICP. Today, Bradly, my supervisor in the digital lab, had me printing large prints for an upcoming show of his. I really liked the work and it was even more exciting to see it all together as it got hung on the wall. Although I am used to printing large fine art prints, it was awesome of him to go over everything with me again. One thing that I really appreciated about ICP was that I got to see other people’s methods for doing things. I get so used to the way we doing everything in my program at IU, that I sometimes forget that I could possibly find more efficient ways if I do a little exploring/ talking to others about their methods.

When all the prints were done, I had to say my goodbyes to everyone. I really enjoyed the time I got with some of the individuals at ICP and was really sad to leave them. Bradly, Jim, and Luis from the digital lab, especially, made my time at ICP really fun. I’m already missing those guys!

When I got back to my house, I quickly gathered my photo gear to head out to Port Washing to meet up with Jana and Jackson, the two I photographed earlier in my trip, and the rest of their family and friends! When we first met up to shoot, we talked about getting together again so I could get more photos of Jackson. This didn’t happen ALL that much this time either, but I had a really great time at a picnic in the park with them! The whole family and all of their friends were so incredibly welcoming and fun. It felt really wonderful to be with a group of people this fun and kind after being in the chaos of New York for 6 weeks. I definitely hope to stay in touch with them and hopefully visit again sometime soon!

After a long couple of days, I woke up Friday and headed over to Gloria’s house to visit with and photograph she and Linda before I left for Indy the next morning! I also photographed a head shot for Gloria while I was there. For those of you just catching up, Gloria is sisters with a family friend and was kind enough to search for a place for us to stay while in New York and Linda is her friend who graciously let us stay in her carriage house! Gloria and Linda are two FUN ladies, let me tell you! I am going to miss these two a lot and am very sad that I didn’t get to spend more time with them while I was in New York. I cannot thank them enough for everything they did for us during our time there. They are two of the most kind and beautiful women and I can’t wait to go back and visit them!

After spending a bit of time with my lovely lady friends, I headed back to the city to spend a little more time with Leigh! The two of us pretty much just wandered the city all afternoon but I was really thankful that we got the time to do so. Leigh is another person I feel very fortunate to have met and to be able to call a friend. He is one of the kindest and most sincere people that I have met. I cannot believe the amount of time he put into making our trip to New York the best that it could be. Leigh, in all sincerity, was extremely crucial in absolutely making my experience there. I cannot thank him enough.

Later that night, Molly and I headed to Thalia one last time before heading to canal street for some last minute purse shopping! To top off the night, the two of us headed to Williamsburg in Brooklyn to check out the hipness of it all. We did a bit of bar hopping and lots of people watching and I have to say, not impressed hip Brooklyn! No, really, it was alright- we found some neat bars- but I think I might like the day life there more than the night life.

In order to make sure I made the 1:20am train, I had to set off on the long journey back to Penn Station by myself.  In true New York style, I had to wait a very long time for my train which was then followed by being bombarded by a recovering heroin addict the entire ride back to Douglaston. I would say that I wouldn’t have it any other way for my last Penn Station/ train ride experience….but I will just say that it made me very glad to know that it was my last for a long time. ha.

The next morning, I hopped a plane back to Indy to move out of my old house and into my new one! (Pictures will come soon!)  I was very ready to be home with familiar faces and the comforts of my own home and car but I will miss New York. My trip definitely had its ups and downs but I do have to say that, over all, I am glad that I did have a New York experience. More than anything, I am so incredibly grateful for the people who I met and the opportunities that they put in front of me. If for no other reason, I have to go back to New York to see all of them! I can’t thank everyone enough for the experiences that they gave me and I can only hope I can return the favor for them some day! Only time will tell if this midwest girl will be a New York girl again…