What makes a purchase “worth it”? The answer is different for everybody, so we’re asking some of the coolest, most shopping-savvy people we know—from small-business owners to designers, artists, and actors—to tell us the story behind one of their most prized possessions.
Who?
Brad Ogbonna’s lens is transportive. The photographer’s spellbinding snaps are often captured overseas, a testament to his love of travel, but catching flights isn’t always necessary for the creative to immerse himself in the spontaneous, slice-of-life moments that define his oeuvre: New York, which Ogbonna has called home for the last 15 years, offers no shortage of chaos and vibrancy to keep him busy.
Originally from Saint Paul, Minneapolis, Ogbonna has spent most of the past decade-plus living in Brooklyn (he only veered from the creative enclave for two months to live in the Manhattan neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen). After moving to the big city to study political science at Queens College, he graduated with a plan to leave his mark in the political landscape.
But the years that followed the 2008 recession had other plans for Ogbonna. His photography, once just a hobby to fill out his photo blog, eventually led to gigs for Fortune 500 companies. Today, Ogbonna is known widely for both his portraits of everyday folks in locales like Dakar and Havana, as well as for capturing some particularly starry subjects—among them, Carmelo Anthony, Naomi Osaka, and Zendaya—in their best light.
In an attempt to flee Brooklyn apartment bidding wars, the photographer tossed his life into storage and spent the majority of the past year traveling between Europe and Mexico City. When he’s not busy globe-trotting to capture the lives of interesting people from behind the camera, he’s nurturing another passion of his: wine. Ogbonna is the founder of Brooklyn wine bar Prima, which opened in 2022. Earlier this year, he returned to his sweet landing pad in the borough, where he lives alone.
Where?
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