My Favorite NY Photos: Two Years of The Urban Phoenix

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In a few short years, I’ve had the pleasure of photographing cities all over New York State.  In that time, I’ve taken some photos I really truly enjoy and would love to share with you.

In a few weeks, The Urban Phoenix will begin a weekly photo series featuring pictures from photographers in cities all over New York State.  This will be the start of a whole new dimension for the UP, as we continue to to highlight Upstate’s urban success stories with images and words from local visual artists.

For now, sit back and enjoy some of my favorite photos we’ve featured over the past two years.

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A trip to Buffalo highlighting Upstate’s only light rail system was actually the first documentary style photo project I ever did.

My Urban Phoenix journey began in Utica, New York… after 25,000 views in two days, the blog was born.

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The beautiful Stanley Theater

From Utica it was on to Schenectady, where a thriving downtown met me and inspired my camera.  The Schenectady blog has been viewed more times than any other UP blog.

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A freak blizzard hit as I walked to dinner in Schenectady

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After two huge blog posts in Utica and Schenectady, I had a chance to come back to Rochester and capture the spirit of it’s people.

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As the 2015 weather got better in the Spring, it was on to Binghamton.

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My visit to Utica for their Saranac Thursday live music event series yielded some really fun photos.

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Troy on a beautiful Saturday gave me a glimpse into their “just watch me” spirit of urban revival.  Their Farmers Market is epic by the way.

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To begin a big 2016, it was a visit to the beautiful Rome New York, featuring photos of their gorgeous train station and the beautiful Capitol Theater.

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This blog has been built on the back of Amtrak, as I believe rail travel is THE BEST way to see our great state and all it has to offer.  In 2016, Amtrak’s New York By Rail Magazine commissioned me to travel to Hudson New York by train and capture the vibrant mini-city magic there.

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Again in 2o16, I began to feature my home city of Rochester with photos featuring new bus shelters, The Lamberton Conservatory, Rochester’s abandoned subway, Grove Place, Corn Hill and more.

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Some random photos from my travels.

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More gorgeous Rochester.

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A quick day trip to Utica and Schenectady for some city shots.

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Geneva New York, a shining example of rebirth in a tiny package… Geneva is the only city I’ve visited to have more blog views than it’s population!

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More from Rochester.

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And even more from Central New York.

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A day trip to Rome and Buffalo gave me a chance to try those cities’ bike share programs.

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And more from Utica.

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Rome is such a pretty little town, highlighted by Fort Stanwix!  And in 2017, I got to experience their Souper Bowl soup cookoff.

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2017 began a new chapter with The Urban Phoenix as I began my “neighborhoods” tour, featuring The South Wedge in Rochester and Armory Square in Syracuse.

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As always, I’ve felt that my photographs compliment the entries I write, but the real reason over a quarter million people have read The Urban Phoenix is because they are excited about the rebirth of our urban areas in New York State.  That being said, I’m happy to visually capture the spirit of Upstate’s urban surge, and hopefully I can make people look twice at the cities that are on the move right in our backyard.