Back in Charlotte from a week-long residency in New York City. I use the word residency mainly because I felt very natural there, as if I had been there for years instead of just days.

Collecting loot and drinking pints, riding the subway, navigating the people, the streets, and the blocks of lower Manhattan, tapas in the Village with friends, finding things to do and see and places to poke into…it all just seemed so effortless and natural. I miss it already.

The main reason for my trip to New York was to show my book to some photo editors with whom I’ve established a phone/email rapport over the past several months. Making that face-to-face connection with anyone that may hire me — better yet: anyone that may trust me to shoot and deliver an assignment — is very important to me.

Most of the editors and art directors I work with here in Charlotte are people I’ve met in person and even broken bread with, so to speak. I value those relationships immensely and am always making an effort to strengthen them as time permits.

Since some/most of the magazines I’d like to shoot for are based in New York, a trip up there to meet the photo editors of those magazines, on this and future trips, is appropriate.

I met with and showed my book to thirteen photo editors. Some looked while others turned the pages, some turned the pages of the book quickly, some turned them slowly, some asked about the images, some asked questions about me, some crossed their arms the whole time, some said a lot, some said barely anything, one showed me around the magazine’s offices and offered me the views of Manhattan from their lofty windows, and one shared some incredibly forthcoming and valuable advice about improving my book and shooting for them in the future.

I didn’t expect to walk out of my meetings with an assignment or with the promise of one. All I wanted from these meetings was the opportunity to meet these people, face to face, and strengthen our relationships.

Some relationships take years to build. Yet each begins with one person making a move towards the other and putting out their hand for a hearty handshake. It may sound a bit naive or too hopeful, but it’s the honest truth.