For fashion editor Susan Kaufman, taking photos of New York City and posting them to Instagram started simply as a creative hobby. “But over time, and as my audience grew, people kept commenting ‘You should do a book’ and ‘I would love to walk with you and see New York City through your eyes’,” says Kaufman, the former editor-in-chief of People StyleWatch and fashion editor at Glamour and People, among other publications. “Thanks to their encouragement, and having come from the publishing world, I thought, why not do a photo book—it’s always been a dream of mine!”
That book, Walk With Me: New York, published by Abrams Image, is out in May, and features more than 200 photos of some of the often-overlooked spots that make NYC so beautiful, from its parks and cafés to building façades.
As she’s walked the city, Kaufman has collected some favorite spots, too—many of which are featured on illustrated maps in each chapter. But when it comes to snapping photos, Kaufman says her top three favorite streets to shoot would be Tenth Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues (“So many stunning historic houses on one block”); Perry Street between Waverly Place and Hudson Street (“For its beautiful townhouses and cafés”); and East 70th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues (“One of the prettiest blocks on the Upper East Side”).
Kaufman adds that her hope for the book is that “people will fall as much in love with New York City as I have, and that they will be surprised by the unexpected beauty that can be found here.”
