Hampton Apples started out as a photography project and transformed itself into a short book.

I originally wanted to use my cell phone camera to document my trip to NYC. At the time i had a Sidekick 2, and loved it, so it made sense. Once the photos were taken, and I was back home. I realized the photos presented a great metaphor for how I see New York City: A blurry mess of oddities and over-exposure.

I decided to take this idea and incorporate text that related to the history, future, and folklore of New York, the state. I melded the images and text in a way that creates a sense of impossible to understand journalism. Text gets lost, images are incomprehensible, and yet there are moments of quiet beauty where everything is clear. This was the essence of my experience, and I convey that with this short book.