Spotted: Irene in New York City
First pictures shot on my Fujifilm X-T30 II.
Hey, Upper East Siders. Irene here. I have the biggest news ever.
Hahah if you didn’t quite catch the reference, that’s Gossip Girl, one of my all-time favourite shows filmed in New York City.
You know when you have that spontaneous thought, the one that feels completely impossible and somehow like the best idea you’ve ever had all at once? That happened to me in February 2025. It followed me around and eventually consumed me until I made it real. I wanted a Fujifilm X-T30 II.
And if you know anything about that camera, you know it’s basically one of the celebrities of the photography world (aka: never available when you want it). I checked countless stores and witnessed weeks, no, months of waiting lists, and hit more walls than I’d like to admit. Until finally, I found a store. And a loophole. One that got me the camera in less than a week. If that isn’t fate, I don’t know what is.
Armed with a few YouTube tutorials and tips from my dad (my favourite photographer) and a couple of friends, I packed up my brand-new camera and, two weeks later, brought it with me on my very first trip to New York City. A four-day class trip organized by the McGill University School of Architecture, with my classmates. First camera. First NYC trip. First time seeing the city that never sleeps.
The day before we left, my friends and I planned everything by the hour. You may laugh at us all you want, but miraculously, it worked. We saw everything we wanted, did everything we dreamed of, and had the absolute best time. I was in constant awe. Every time the city impressed me (which was about every five minutes), I lifted my camera and captured it. Looking back now, those photos, the very first ones I ever took with this camera, did exactly what I hoped they would. They froze the beauty of the city and the feeling of being there for the first time.
Whenever I miss that trip, I look at those photos and relive it all. That first click was my first real taste of photography, and it awakened something in me, a deep desire to keep capturing moments, places, and feelings.
So I wanted to share some of my favourite shots here, in case someone else might want to experience a little piece of it too.
UPDATE: After annoying my family members for about 4 months straight about going back to NYC, I managed to convince them 😉 Here’s how some of the pictures turned out:
