Born and raised in Central New York, I’d like to think that I turned out alright.

I have five younger brothers and sisters, all beautiful and grown-up, some with children of their own. My siblings names are Kristy, Christopher, Robert, Brittany and Breann. They all still live in Fulton, although my youngest brother Robert moved to Connecticut for a couple years. It’s a little bit crazy to think that I’m an uncle, several times over!

A little bit of tragedy: my Mom died from suicide when I was about 28, and I never knew my Dad. My Mom had a pretty long history of medical, emotional and substance-abuse issues, which took its toll on her far too soon. I hear that my Dad is still kicking around Fulton somewhere, but I don’t really have a desire to interact with him.

I graduated from G. Ray Bodley High School in 1997 with a Regents diploma, which is very fancy. I went to college the year after, but dropped out due to familiar distraction and general youth-stupidity. It was during this period of my life that I started to identify as gay, with my same-sex attraction surging forward during my early college years. It was during this period that I also met my current partner, Phil.

After Phil finished college, we both decided that we were “in it for the long-haul” and moved to Washington DC, together. It was here that I started my career as an IT professional, and him a similar field. It was during my time in DC that I also cultivated and expanded my love for photography eventually organizing as an LLC known as “Sean Cooper Photo”. Fast forward 35 bar mitzvahs, 15 weddings, 12 *VERY* large parties, and here I am in NYC as I round the bend on my 35th birthday.

To be continued…