At &SONS, travel is essential to us. It allows us to remove ourselves from the daily grind and reconnect with family and friends. Travel is the best source of inspiration as we experience different cultures and see the world through a new lens. 

Our Founder Phil James has a real fondness for New York, so earlier this month, he packed up his camera kit and took the family away for a well-deserved break.

Having been a photographer for so long ( 30 years and counting ), I still like to wander around the city taking pictures. New York is a living, breathing film sets everywhere you look, with steam rising from the drains, neon lights and those iconic yellow cabs. Although I am mourning the loss of the classic rounded NY cab - they are now modern cars and have lost that romantic character. The Brooklyn Bridge crossing is very different in a smooth, silent car.

Like most people, I use my iPhone a lot for snapping on the move, but I also took a new Leica LUX 7 to trial. I like to set the controls to manual (Old dog, new tricks) and concentrate on ‘the discipline’, always framing in camera and enjoying the process. You are never short of subject matter in NY.

I love the free and candid nature of ‘street’ photography - it’s the complete opposite of my years of Advertising photography, where everything is planned, beautifully lit and executed precisely. Sitting near a sidewalk with a coffee and letting a scene play out around you, choosing a moment to capture using pure instinct, is a process I have learned to love.