Postcards: 24 Hours in New York
"You and I both heard that call from New York."
Welcome to Postcards, the photography side of Sunday Scaries. After upgrading my film camera in 2023, film has overtaken my iPhone as my camera of choice. Here you’ll find photos from travels, home, and anywhere in between. To see more, check out the Postcards section of this Substack.
If you enjoy my photography, consider purchasing our zine, Scenes of Note.
Spending less than 24 hours in New York can be tortuous. Not enough time to fit in anything far from where you’re staying, just knowing that the city has so much to offer that you can’t take it up on, and suddenly being spit out to your flight the next day wondering where all the time actually went.
Luckily for this trip, I fit in just the right amount — some window shopping in Soho, a perfect hotel nap, a fun event, and even a nightcap at my favorite hotel bar in the United States: The Bowery.
Below is my captain’s log.
The Bowery Hotel
Any out-of-towner knows that you can romanticize any view from a hotel room while in the city. Not a proud point for me to make, but a point nonetheless.
I made the following slideshow while burning some time in the room. I took two nearly identical photos — one with flash, one without — and layered them over each other to create a dimmer switch effect. While this was my first dive into “exposure layering” without knowing it was a thing.
One of my favorite touches at The Bowery is the teddy bear sitting on the bed as you check in. While I didn’t take this one home for my son, he does sleep with one in his bed from a previous trip we took.
And if there’s anything I like after staying at a cool hotel, it’s something to remember it by at home — a stolen notepad, a robe from the gift shop, or even just a pen that you toss in your bag.
The Event
The event that took me to New York? A party hosted by Heineken to promote people being “social off socials,” also known as simply putting your phone away to enjoy the company that you’re with. Unsure if my film camera would work in a dark bar (but wanting to use my film camera to honor the ethos of the event), I soon realized that those concerns were pointless after getting everything developed. Unfortunately, no, none of my film photos of Joe Jonas performing turned out.
For all the other photos I took, you can see them here.
Love the film pictures :) Curious if you develop your own film?