America

America

America in focus from the tropical Pacific shores of Hawaii to the Atlantic beaches of Cape Cod, from crystal-clear freshwater springs in Florida to iconic skylines in New York and Philadelphia, these locations showcase the diversity of America’s landscapes and culture. This guide focuses on some of the most photogenic spots this country has to offer.

Hawaii

Kailua

Hawaii has to be the least American place in the whole country, it's not even part of the continental United States. During my time here I really just wanted to photograph the island of Oʻahu. These photos are from Kailua and the Lanikai pillbox trail and beach. These places were sitting on my wishlist for years and were as beautiful and photogenic as I was expecting, but didn't have nearly the same exciting energy as my visit to Southeast Asia. In spite of personally finding the family friendly, pricey tourist vibes of Hawaii far less enjoyable than endless tropical beaches of Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia, it still claims the title as the best spot in America for me. While it wasn't an eye opening cultural experience by any means, Hawaii is still a fantastic place to get natural exercise from walking the beach and hiking.

To my surprise, I had planned on coming with Hawaii with a friend who backed out, but then I immediately met another friend Andre, pictured above, who's now a famous comedian. The chances of this encounter were pretty slim because America has 350 million people, and I really just know a couple thousand people in Connecticut, at most, where I live, and a handful of family members in the rest of the country.

Florida

MIAMI

Miami feels completely different from any other part of America. Part tourist hotspot, part time capsule of the 80's glamour from TV, and part modern art and decadent food scene, it's really a fascinating place to visit. Miami caught me off guard, because it's majority Spanish speaking, and many people living in Miami aren't bilingual like in Spain, which really surprised me having more difficulty communicating in my home country than in Europe and Asia.

The people I met in Miami acted very differently depending on the section. In South Beach, it's mostly tourists so you meet every kind of person. In Mid Beach, I was double charged by the famous Fontainebleau hotel where Frank Sinatra stayed, and the few people I met there usually pretty rude. I was trying to find out if my experience was singular, but it isn't. Malcolm Gladwell has half a book on how Miami changes people for the worse, turning one person from a respected community member back home, to a healthcare fraud agent in Miami. On Reddit, people were talking about the shopping cart theory, and how good people return the cart, and applying that to Miami Beach, where no one returns the cart. But the beach and architecture in Mid beach and South Beach are beautiful, so I had a love hate relationship with the area. Finally, in the city of Miami, it's just like any other America city, but hotter, and the few people I met there were friendly.

Florida

Ginnie Springs, Rainbow Springs, Silver Glen Springs

These springs in northern Florida are home to some of the clearest water in the entire United States, making them incredible for both above-water and underwater photography. The colors shift from deep aquamarine to nearly transparent shades of blue, all framed by thick, vibrant greenery that feels almost otherworldly.

I visited Ginnie Springs, because of a photo by National Geographic photographer, David Doubilet, who took one of my favorite photos here, which was also used as Animal Collective album art, click here to see the photo. I was beautiful, but lots of people have died diving here because the underwater cave system stretches for miles and people run out of oxygen. I didn't even feel that safe as a photographer, because it had a few snakes hiding in by the rocks, in my photos above, as well. Nearby, Rainbow Springs, has waterfalls and winding trails through subtropical forest; and Silver Glen Springs, is known for its wide, shallow sections that are perfect for capturing aquatic life and mirror-like reflections. Swimming here is very different than in Miami, because the water is 70 degrees year round and the air is hotter, so the water feels kind of cold and you have to be on the lookout for alligators. In, Miami you have to worry about pollution, but the water is very warm and it's just incredible swimming in it.

Cape Cod

Cahoon hallow beach

Cape Cod’s shoreline is wide and serene, with dunes, tidal flats, and lighthouses. As someone who grew up in New England and spend many summer on Long Island, I was expecting Cape Cod to be almost kind of boring. And parts of it are, but the area around Cahoon Hollow Beach is one of my favorite parts of the country and by far my favorite beach on the East Coast. I went in the off season and it was otherworldly seeing paragliders drifting quietly in the breeze and how empty and vast it was after the paragliders were out of sight. For me, the area put me in a very peaceful state of mind between the majestic sandy cliffs and the stretches of undeveloped timeless ocean. Surprisingly, this is the only place in the country I've ever seen that was untouched nature, because even the protected parks in the country have tents and trails, so it's all been changed by mankind. Seeing the beach without any changes since the dawn of time was unreal, and really lends itself to a reflective mindset about the nature of our ever changing world.

Rhode Island

Block Island

The top photo is a beach called Mohegan Bluffs which has a bloody history as the Mohegans were thrown to their death over the cliff at this beach. It's strange that such a beautiful place could have such a tragic history, but that's apparently a recurring theme on my blog, now that I know the same is true of Indonesia, Portugal and Cambodia. The middle photos are of Benita, a German photographer friend who I met while working at a summer camp job. The last photo is one she took of me at the bottom of the beach.

After we took the ferry to Block Island we stopped off at Pasquale's Pizzeria Napoletana in South Kingston, which is something I recommend for anyone visiting the area, because that's the best restaurant the in country, even better than the pizza places in New Haven, which are famously fantastic, in my opinion.

Rhode Island

Newport

The video I made above with a soundtrack that took a few days out of my life, features Newport, Cape Cod and Block Island with my friend Michelle Zumbo. I've done the cliff walk in Newport multiple times and it offers a glimpse into two very different sides of America. You have the old money with the mansions on the beach, but the town of Newport has a seedy underbelly of drugs, prostitution and people struggling to get by. While I was photographing the University of Rhode Island yearbook, I was staying at a motel in Newport which was raided by the police while I was there. While a place South Beach in Miami Beach feels like a time capsule of the 1980s, Newport feels more like a time capsule of the 1880s.

New York

Untermyer Gardens

Persian-inspired architecture, manicured lawns, and Hudson River views. In the first photo, my friend Garrett did what I've dubbed, the victory pose, which afterwards, I've copied way too many times. But, what pose is better than the victory pose anyway?

New York

New York City

One of the most famous parts of the country, the most expensive city in the world tied with Singapore, welcome to New York City. I have a love hate relationship with this place, but mostly hate it. The weather is usually cold and rainy, and if it's not, the streets smell like hot trash, it's takes half a day just to get in or out of it, and staying overnight costs at much as a month stay on the beach in Thailand. For this reason, I only come here when I'm invited or getting paid to do it. When my friend Debbie invited me to Momo and Kyuramen, we actually had an awesome time, and I think these are two of the most photogenic places in the city. Above that is a photo of the ceiling of One World Trade Center, and above that is the landmark Empire State Building.

Connecticut

my home state

Ah, the state I grew up in. My favorite locations for photography here are Grace Farms in New Canaan, Yale in New Haven, Gillette Castle in East Haddam, Harkness Memorial Park in Waterford. Here you can also see some photos from Weir Farm, the only national park in the state, the SONO mall in Norwalk, and my friend Debbie at Webb Mountain Park in my hometown Monroe. You can also see her brother on the motorcycle in Easton, the town next door and a photo of me taken by Benita at the Mohegan Sun and Weir Farm. Thanks Benita! We did these photos of each other by putting my Leica Q2 in panorama mode and running behind it, and around again, which gives the effect of duplicating yourself in camera. You can do this with an iPhone as well in Pano mode.

Connecticut is nicknamed the nutmeg state because back in the day people here were tricksters who sold acorns as nutmeg.

California

napa, san francisco and palo alto

California is world famous for Hollywood in Los Angeles. Everyone dreams of Hollywood Hills, or maybe driving a Ferrari through Beverly Hills and meeting Leonardo DiCaprio. But my photos show a different side of California. My cousin's graduation from Stamford college, one of the most difficult schools to get into in the country and Napa, wine county.

Although I prefer the beaches of Hawaii, California is my favorite state. So many famous movies and albums came out of Los Angeles from Nirvana's Nevermind to Robert Zemeckis overseeing Back to the Future filming scenes at Griffith Park. So many celebrities have called California home at some point, including my favorite celebrity, Rick Rubin, who I admire for encouraging people to explore their creativity and follow where it goes. If you're planning a visit, here's a few ideas to add to your itinerary, the places that I personally missed and want to return for... Joshua tree, the Goldstein Sheets Residence and other properties designed by John Lautner, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Charles and Ray Eames, plus the iconic Hollywood Hills sign, and Malibu beach.

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia

Philadelphia is the most normal American city I can think of. Some of the Airbnbs here make fantastic photo studios and are fun for an overnight stay without the sky high prices of Manhattan. In the model section of my website here, lots of those rooms were in Philadelphia.