Shooting summer intimacy in New York

As summer dwindles away, what are we left with? Already fading tans, half eaten watermelon slices and blisters from our sandals. Georgia Hilmer, a New York-based model, wanted to capture the adventures and misadventures of the few warm months of the year with her gang of creatives.

“The artist and photographer and writer friends I hung out with, who were constantly creating and building and pushing, let me feed off their enthusiasm and energy,” says Hilmer. “I carry a point-and-shoot around with me everywhere and I have hundreds of candid photos of my friends, but I wanted to bring everyone together more formally to play in front of my camera and see what happened.”

It was at a friend’s regular summer breakfast club that Hilmer began her photographic escapade. Surrounded by tables of muffins with blueberries, fruit focaccia and frittatas, as well as a group of her closest friends, Hilmer began capturing her informal portraits.

“This project was the first time I took photos of people in a moment I had manufactured. Usually something unfolding organically catches my eye and I grab for my camera to freeze the scene,” Hilmer explains. “With this project I wanted to be as true to that spontaneous instinct as possible, and I hoped these portraits would look like an extension of the pictures I already take.” To succeed with this, they kept their summer parties going, only pulling individuals to the side briefly for candid shots, continuing with the party conversations.

Through several hazy summer afternoons, Hilmer shot her project. Although awkward to begin with, where at times, it was “as if we didn’t know each other”, says Hilmer, any awkwardness melted away to produce the dreamy photo set.

Check out more of Georgia Hilmer's work here