Picture Farm Gallery is excited to announce a pop up book release on March 20th 2015 from 6-9 PM.

Birds of Paradise is a series and newly released book by photographer Lee O’Connor which celebrates 30 creative, young, and fashionable women scouted on the streets and subways of New York City between the years 2009-2014.

Lee began the series shortly after revisiting a copy of Face Of Our Time, a collection of portraits by renowned photographer August Sander. The book is a masterpiece, documenting faces from all walks of life who the artist felt represented society during the Weimar Republic. Inspired by the idea of documenting the face of an era, Lee set out to record a specific demographic of her era; young, artistic, entrepreneurial women living in New York City.

The process involved Lee asking the subject to dress either in what she first encountered them wearing or in clothing that the subject felt best expressed their personality. These portraits capture a moment in the lives of these aspiring women, each on her own journey of self-creation. The portrait sessions were a collaborative effort in which the subjects were co-creators in the process; constructing, revealing, and inviting the viewer in on their own terms.

Lee O’Connor is a New York based fashion, lifestyle, and portrait photographer. After graduating in 2003 from The University of the Arts with a BFA in photography, Lee moved to New York and worked for 8 years assisting some of the world’s leading fashion, lifestyle, and advertising photographers, most notably Bruce Weber and WIlliam Abranowicz. Lee’s photography focuses on young lifestyle and combines elements of street culture with high fashion. Her work has been described as hip, youthful, and energetic. Some of her clients include Estee Lauder, Target, and Interscope Records, as well as magazines such as Paper and Oyster. She is based in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.