Over the past 9 years, otsoNY has on occasion showcased third-party websites, blogs, and other publications, and it is with great pleasure that it now gets a chance to take a glimpse at a life less ordinary through the viewfinder of an adventurous individual whose artistic talents and achievements have earned her a place among the ranks of New York's most distinguished photographers.

Photographer Martha Sachser

Originally from Brazil, the country of football, samba and carnival, Martha Sachser’s ambitions led her away from her native home to a new adopted one in the shape of New York City, where in 2012, she launched her own blog, simply entitled 'NY & About'. “To be honest I had no idea what the blogs name should be,” explains Martha. “I’ve had several blogs in the past but the names were either too long or too silly. So I asked one of my best friends, Natalia, she always had the best ideas and advice, and so she came up with ‘NY & About’, which is kind of hard for my Brazilian audience to understand at first and even share with others but somehow it worked out and I love it!”

In 2016, after much deliberating, Martha made the decision to begin writing her posts in English. “I had followers from other countries ask me to translate the content,” says Martha. “The Google translate option didn’t really work, and so I decided to translate a few posts here and there until I finally decided to add the English option and write posts in English as much as possible without mixing with the Portuguese content.”

Aside from the blog, Martha is a fulltime photographer, who takes photographs of loving couples in traditional and picturesque areas of New York. With her calming personality and directorial skillset combined with the slipstream of her smile, Martha is able to make her clients feel relaxed and confident in front of the camera, thereby capturing the true essence of specific moments. “Photography came first and then came the blog which was great for my business,” says Martha. “My clients found me much easier when Googling about NYC and they could follow me and talk to me months prior to their shoot since I was always sharing useful tips for their upcoming trip. So my clients were always 99% from Brazil, who wanted me to photograph their trip to NY. That’s also why the blog was never a full time job at first, I always super busy with photography.”

Examples of Martha's photography Click on the thumbnails to view in larger size

Referred to as one of the best digital SLR cameras on the market, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV is Martha’s choice of hardware when shooting her subjects, whilst her trusted Canon PowerShot G7 X is ideally suited for video content, of which there are several to view on video-sharing website ‘YouTube’.

Many areas of attraction in New York are directly accessible through Martha’s fusion of modern and traditional architecture photography with her most desirable settings being the fashionable West Village and the elite Upper East Side. A fan of television shows ‘Friends’, ‘Sex and the City’ and ‘Gossip Girl’, Martha self-consciously mentions liking the Chrysler Building due to its appearance in the opening credits to SATC, adding, “I can’t get enough of the Empire State Building either. If you follow me on Instagram you will see me always declaring my love for it. I also love the fact that I always spot the Freedom Tower from the most random places. To me, it is a constant reminder that we should always choose love and peace.”

Asked about her love of New York-based films, Martha laughs, “I’m more of a chick flick type of girl so anything like ‘Friends with Benefits’, ‘Serendipity’, ‘August Rush’, ‘Enchanted’, and ‘Something Borrowed’, but I can watch ‘Home Alone’ and ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ a million times! They were my first vision of New York and the reason why I wanted to move here since I was a little girl.”

NY & About.com is a shrine of useful information with helpful travel tips as well as detailed guides for accomodation, shopping and eating out in New York City. There are also links to an variety of shops and services within the area of New York.