Behind the Brand P5: NYC Photo Trip

Since I can’t draw, so I did the next best thing and borrowed my friend Alex’s Canon SLR. Armed with this very amazing tool I spent a whole weekend roaming around Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens to take pictures of places I knew and loved. I shot over 300 photos in two days. Best of all, I was excited because I was finally putting things into motion for the actual product I had thought about for so long.

Part of the initial picture selection process was to choose images easily identifiable with the city such that anyone who saw the shirt and familiar with the neighborhood would recognize the design. First shots came from the West Village, especially near my one favorite (and now sadly, closed) bar called Thunder Jackson’s at 169 Bleecker.  

While many were not so great given my amateur photography skills, a few Long Island City ones stood out. This isn’t surprising because it is one area of NYC I know best. Silvercup Studios is probably the most famous building in LIC, followed by other notable local spots like the PS1 MOMA and the Queensboro Bridge.

The Silvercup sign was a clear winner. The other design I decided instead to opt for a collage (again, with some great input from my brother Colin).