Golden hour on Brooklyn rooftops
How Jordan Reyes plans a sunset shoot with one bag and no assistant.
By Maya Chen · Sep 30, 2026 · 1 min read
Jordan Reyes shoots portraits on Brooklyn rooftops most weeks between May and October. He works alone, climbs a lot of stairs, and has about forty minutes of good light to work with.
Planning the light
He checks the sunset time and the direction of the street grid the day before. In Williamsburg the light runs straight down the east-west streets, so he picks roofs with a clear view west.
One bag, three lenses
- A 35mm for environmental portraits
- An 85mm for faces
- A 24-70mm for when the plan changes
Side access matters on a roof. I never want to put the bag down on gravel.
Jordan Reyes
After the sun goes down
Blue hour comes next, and it is short. Jordan switches to a higher ISO rather than a tripod so he can keep moving, then packs up in under a minute and is on the stairs before the light is gone.
Maya Chen
Maya is the field editor at Carryvo. She has spent ten years shooting documentary work in New York and Taipei, and she tests every bag we make on the subway first.
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