Oh, Winter. I usually love you...but...it's really hard to want to hang out with you after you've invaded every moment of my life like this. "Hey guys, where are you going?" "Guys, wanna hang out? No? Whatever, I'm here, let's party!" "Guys, does this snow make me look fat?" And whenever we hang out, you don't even pick up after yourself. You either leave your slippery ice patches around for us to fall and break a hip or that gross, grey slushy crap that some manages to seep through our waterproof boots.

Not cool, Winter 2014. Not cool.

But when you're decent and kind, you create some really special moments that we appreciate. So let's keep them special by keeping them few and far between.

Love,

Nicole (and the other 90% of the U.S.)

Welcome to the blog for NOWPhotographyNYC.com, a website featuring the photography of me, Nicole O. Whelan.

I picked the name NOWPhotography because I couldn't ignore the fact that my initials are kind of badass. Nicole O. Whelan--how could I not take advantage of that?

But the name also points to my style and photography philosophy in general. I am not a huge fan of 100% posed and staged photos that are made to appear spur of the moment; why not just let a scene play out and let your subjects feel as comfortable as possible? Obviously, if someone is sitting for a portrait or headshot, I will ask them to stand a certain place or look at the camera. But I want all of my subjects to be themselves in front of the camera. What's the point of trying to look the same as someone else? My best shots are from when we're laughing about some random joke or having a discussion where we're both engaged. Photography is the practice of recording human interaction, right? Well, for me it is.

That's enough waxing poetic. This blog will mainly be where I showcase my most recent photos and photos that don't quite fit into a particular set on the site. I'll also be posing questions/challenges to you, talking about how this little venture is going, and occasionally begging you to employ me. I will try to keep things as funny and interesting as possible.

And if I'm failing at being funny and interesting, I will borrow funny and interesting things from other people. And with that:

Winter, The Friend That's Trying Too Hard

Words to go with Pictures

"Art is either plagiarism or revolution."--Paul Gaugin