I finally took my first trip to New York, lets say it’s been a long time coming. It has been on my list for such a long time, and as a creative person, it seems ridiculous that it has taken me so long to make it there.

I thought I knew what to expect, I’ve seen it in movies and TV shows (which we all know are safe to base our opinions on, right?), I’ve heard all about my friends experiences, but in all the ways I prepared myself it’s really just a city that you need to experience and see for yourself.

As soon as I arrived I felt a sensation that would be comparable to walking into a river with an incredibly strong current that sucks you in and rushes you around. You might drown, but if you can keep afloat it takes you on a wild ride.

I was in total sensory overload the first couple days, I really wasn’t ready to introduce my camera to the city until I was able to figure out how to focus on one thing at a time. It was really exciting to have so much to look at.

At the end of my week I returned to Vancouver feeling like I just got off a roller coaster. But in a good way. Like when you get off the ride and just look for the end of the line to get back on again.

– Leigh Righton
Website / Twitter

I brought a new pair of sunglasses with me that made the whole city orange, I became obsessed with shooting everything through my sunglasses. This is the first shot I tried this on.

This fellah was amazing. He was sitting at the base of an American flag with his hair just a flowing in the wind. He was totally into what he was playing because when I approached him to ask if I could take some photos, I was pretty much on top of him before he noticed me… I hope I didn’t interrupt his groove, man.

Another example of my sunglasses obsession.

Yet another shot through my glasses, photographed from the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn bridge looking over to Manhattan. You can see one of the two towers being rebuilt. The day I took this shot, it also happened to be the day they added the floor that made it the tallest building in Manhattan once again.

I shot the reflection from a tinted back window of a car parked on the street.

I took this portrait after a comedy night at the Knitting Factory where Judah Friedlander was the special guest. I love 30 Rock. It was a really outstanding (free) night of comedy with Hannibal Buress as the host and Retta from Parks and Rec in the line-up… so good.

Checking out High Line park was something that was suggested to me a number of times by unrelated people I met or knew in the city. It was a highlight of my random wandering NYC adventures. It’s a park built on a raised rail line above the streets in Manhattan. The billboard art installation was a part of their commissioned works which circulate through. This particular one ran up until May 7th.

Snapped this from the subway looking onto the platform.  No time to pull out the sunglasses filter.

I thought this girl was super cute, I saw her get set up in front of a number of pieces where she was sketching them out.