Snapshots of Hope in New York

My niece, Hope, came to New York for a quick class, so we got together for dinner.

Isn’t my niece gorgeous!? Note: she’d been in a car, on a plane or in an airport since 11 in the morning when we took these pictures late in the evening. How does ANYbody look that good after all that? It’s not fair! I didn’t use any flashes (should have brought my off-camera set up but didn’t feel like carrying it around in the rain) so I used no lights except the ambient city lights. This was totally NOT a modeling session because we’re really just taking some snapshots to send to my brother, but WOW, she’s amazing!

We were hanging out in the lobby of her hotel.

This is only the light from a lamp. That girl can really light up a room, huh?

She was turning heads sitting there by the elevator bank in the Affinia Hotel.

Maybe you remember Hope from the last time she and her friend, Christa Goodwin, were in town. Click here to watch their cool video with pictures by me and music by Christa. Christa does an amazing job on Unsentimental Girl. What a beautiful voice!

This shot shows a little bit of the space where Hope was hanging out. I really loved her brunette look (from the video) but blonde is her natural color so I like that too.

Nice lobby!

Besides being a natural at modeling, Hope is an amazing makeup artist. She was in town for a one-day class on a new airbrush technique. That’s airbrush as in PRE-photoshop, which is awesome.

While we were hanging out in the lobby, there was a massive thunderstorm outside that ended up destroying more than 100 trees in Central Park. I kept begging Hope to go out in the storm, but she wouldn’t go until the rain stopped. Smart girl.

I really wanted to borrow that security guy’s fedora.

Seventh Avenue at night.

I knew the reflections from the rain would be awesome.

Can’t decide which one I like best.

Again, some real modeling lights would have made a big difference, but the light from the hotel’s street entrance weren’t all that bad.

I love Hope’s hair! Come back soon, Hope! New York missed you! (She used to be a model here, but moved back to SC to develop a career as a makeup artist. She’s a really talented artist, so I know she loves it!)

After Hope went to her hotel, I made my way to the train and took a few snapshots of the city at night after the storm. Loved this one in front of Penn Station.

That’s where I work every night!