new york is so quiet

Unfiltered Sunset, Upper East Side, 2025

Here on the Upper East Side, we’re bordered by the East River; the oh-so-quiet East End Avenue, (unless you’re near Gracie Mansion during a mayoral scandal); a park and a school. My apartment is in a protected building, as it’s part of the National Register of Historic Places, and it’s tucked way back in a courtyard.

Unlike places like Northampton, where I heard leaf blowers or snow plows all day and people on the bike path at all hours; or LA, where I heard more leaf blowers, tree work, lawn mowers, cars and construction, this place is like living in a small cabin in the woods. Or more like a beachside cabana (the gentle hum of the FDR evokes the sound of waves). I am so grateful.

Washington Heights

Thing of Beauty, 181st Street Subway Station, 2025

I love going up to see friends and family in Washington Heights. It’s perched atop a hill and it has amazing views of the Hudson, George Washington Bridge and the Palisades. The architecture is beautiful. The picture above is a slice of history that gives me goosebumps.

The other night we went to a restaurant called Dutch Baby for the most obscure trivia night I’ve ever experienced. Unless you are an expert at celebrities’ birthdays, you wouldn’t have won either. I brought my 14-year-old sports expert to help, and of course there was not one single sports question. It was nice though. Culturally totally different than the Upper East Side. I felt like I went on an exotic vacation.

A trip downtown

When you live in NYC, there’s really every reason to get out of your neighborhood, wherever you are, no matter how great your neighborhood is. I know of so many stories of people who grow up here and have never left their borough.

I’m convinced that you could visit different neighborhoods for years and still discover fantastic new ones. The other day my older son and I were wandering downtown and we happened across a place near Elizabeth Street Community Garden called Lovely Day. We’ve been in that area lots of times, but it was the first time we came across the restaurant.

If you are nostalgic for your 20s as a Gen Xer or are in your 20s longing for simpler, cooler times, this place is a must. They played alternative music from the 90s and the pad thai was served on bakelite dishes. It was cozy and the servers wore baggy jeans. The inexpensive-for-New York bill came, not on a Square or any other device, but on this carbon paper.

Receipt, Lovely Day, NYC, 2025

Ready for BLOSSOMS?

I want to share some pictures of blossoms that you can order prints of if you want. I used color gels and a light box. People like them printed on metallic paper, metal and canvas. Click this link to order. Take a look! April is also that magical window in NYC where you really need to get outside for family pictures.

And related, I’m organizing some artist events where there will be visual art and music, and hopefully some comedy as well! Stay tuned, New York people. By the way, the picture of the woman below is during spring. Those aren’t clumps of snow, they’re blossoms!

New Work

Lately, I’ve been photographing a range of projects. I recently worked with a doctor that needed pictures for his website. I also photographed a family at Carl Schurz Park—what made it more special was that I had photographed their wedding over a decade ago.

On the Upper West Side, I photographed a couple of headshots recently, and, big news, I photographed a beauty pageant winner! We have a second shoot coming up.

I do editorial style headshots, content creation and dating pictures

After years of taking pictures and people starting to ask casually, “could you take some video with my iPhone, too? Here, just a few clips.” I realize that I’m not just a photographer but a content creator helping brands. I will help grow your brand. Develop your confidence, turn your side hustle into a real income stream, expand your audience and fulfill your dreams. And as an aside, lots and lots of people come to me for a LinkedIn AND a dating site picture.

This Spring, in addition to the beauty pageant winner, I’ll be photographing a baptism, a traditional Korean birthday celebration, a gala for a non-profit and another family session in Fort Tryon Park.

Also coming soon to NYC, a multi-media art show. Stay tuned.

Always a bridesmaid

As you ALL know, I do weddings with all of the love. Message me if you or anyone you know is getting married in New York. I’d love to hear from them!

And last but most important, how are you doing? I love nothing more than hearing back from you. Be well. xo

Hello! I moved again. This time, unbelievably, back to New York City.

Home, the Upper East Side.

In the last four years I've moved twice. I've had the opportunity to get rid of things I don't need, meet new, wonderful people, reunite with friends and family on the West Coast, and take pictures in new spaces. Breathe new air. If you think taking vacations gives you new perspectives, try moving! Or, if you don't like the stress of it all, just go on vacation.

Where have you been, Elizabeth?

After many years of living in Northampton, MA, we moved to Los Angeles for two years. The remnants of those Covid lockdown days (now feeling like ancient history) were still lingering in Northampton, and we needed to breathe new air. So, we packed our bags, left the return date open, and called it an extended "working vacation." I worked, but it still felt like a vacation.

Huntington Library Cactus Garden, swoon.

LA Years

It was lovely. Something was blossoming at all times. A purple tree, some gorgeous bush that looks like it should be at the bottom of the ocean, roses, a cool cactus, it was all over-the-top. Southern Cali, you sure are a great beauty and a show-off! What we see on the East Coast for a few weeks of the year, you display all year round. And not to mention the snow-capped mountains in winter, the rocky majestic coast, all of it. And miraculously, while we were there, there were no wildfires, no major earthquakes, and tons of rain.

Huntington Library Cactus Garden after a storm is swoon.

We had a great time. We went to Joshua Tree twice, Venice Beach and Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook at least twice a week, Huntington Library Gardens, pictured above after a glorious storm), San Francisco. twice, and clocked in essentially zero miles on our odometer due to the fact that we lived in Culver City, where everything was accessible by foot. We celebrated birthdays and holidays with family and friends. We even had a family trip to Montana's Glacier National Park.

Out the window from the Amtrak from Glacier National Park to Seattle.

My kid loved the basketball rec league at the local Y, and little league at Bill Botts Field, where he played atop a hill with an incredible view of the city and mountains. We took our little sports-lover to UCLA and Clippers basketball, USC football, and baseball games to watch the Angels (Thank you, Max!) and Dodgers (thank you, Rachel and Chad!), as well as minor league games in San Bernardino multiple times to watch our family friend pitch. On the professional front, the images I captured were next to none.

And I loved the drive (I can’t believe I’m saying that I loved a drive, but c’mon it was the Pacific Coast Highway.) to my favorite spot, Malibu Beaches where we always ended our beach day at Pita 'Bu.

Joshua Tree, double swoon.

Despite all of that, we left. And abruptly. And I’m not gonna lie; it ached a little bit.

Back in NYC

Why did we move back to the Upper East Side? It all started this past Mother's Day in LA. I was blasting Neil Diamond (as one does), when suddenly, my older son appeared at my doorstep from New York. No warning, no text—just there.

It did something to me, physically. (He apologized.) I realized how much I missed him, and how nice it was to see the two brothers together. Playing ping pong, joking around in the jacuzzi at night. Playing Geo-guesser. It means so much to me to see them together.

Then there was the FOMO. Watching my son carve out his adult life in NYC from afar was hard, I'll admit. New York has always been my true north, the backdrop of my parenting life, and my professional headquarters. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve flopped onto my bed and cried, New York is the only place I’m ever truly at home!

So here we are. Back in the chaos, back in the magic that is the greatest city on earth. Does my younger son miss LA? Yes, it was a vibe. It was sigma, bussin' and it had 'rizz. I feel incredibly grateful that we're even able to experience both cities. He's getting used to it though the public high school application process and his abysmal lottery number hasn’t helped.

Before we made the big move (by airplane with 9 suitcases) I had to be physically present to sign the lease, so I did a 24-hour round trip from LA to do so. It was so jarring, surreal. I didn't even feel like I remembered how to cross the street! Wait, people cross against the light? Which way are the cars going? Why are the streets so narrow? I arrived before the leasing office opened, and got a coffee at the old bodega. Walked to the old park along the East River. The trees were bigger, and there were more of them. Things were fancier, but the same. I was home.

The Future is Unwritten. Help Me Write It.

So now, it's time for me to rebuild my photo business here in NYC. Photography is still my strongest skill. Google removed my business page and I'm still trying to figure out how to fix that. Until then, I'm open for business. This is where you come in. Let your NYC friends or visiting friends know that I’m here for their events or photo sessions. And, if you’re ever “in the City” please give me a call! Because I’m not traveling anymore. : )

I wish you the happiest of holidays, and hope that you'll reach out and let me know how things are going. I shared my story of the past 3 years, and I really want to hear yours. x, ES

Near home.

NYC Central Park Headshot

Snapshot of a friend and her daughter

BTS at the Top of the Rock (I was a doing video and content creation and snapped this with my phone.)

Central Park Wedding

Nah I don’t like being back at all. : ) photo credit A. Hartstein

My local park after dark.