RayaCottrell Photography

08/01/2026

I am extremely honored to have been asked to create the cover photo of the July edition of. Bronxvillelivingmagazine by Rosie Amodio .

08/01/2026

06/18/2026

For the 5th year, I have been invited by Shirit and the Lighthouse International Film Festival both as a guest and as a photographer to document some of the events of the festival. Not only do I get to spend some quality time with my friend, but each year we get to meet people who work in the movies industry from all over the world, some wonderful local people who volunteer their time working at the festival, and fans of the movies. Between one event to the other we also get to see movies. We get to immerse ourselves for a couple of minutes to a couple of hours in someone else's world, each world invites us to feel a full range of emotions. Emotions that sometimes are left behind when we exit the cinema and sometimes linger, and we carry them back to our realities. For a few days, I get to switch off, and enjoy this unique festival and do what I love doing most, documenting moments through my lens.
Throughout my career, I worked with quite a few “big names”, celebrities, but for someone who feels most comfortable behind the camera, I never approach them to say anything unrelated to the job, or ask for a photo . But this year, I was truly starstruck. Not only did I get to meet Jason Alexander, have a wonderful conversation with Campbell Scott, I got to photograph and meet one of my favorite actors, Tony Shalhoub!!! It took me 4 days to even introduce myself, even though me and my camera were around him all these days. At the last moment, before he was about to leave, I said to myself it’s now or never, just say something... Words were said, I might remember in years to come, but my photos will stay forever.
Here are some of what I captured. If you want to see more you can view them with this link:
https://www.rayacottrell.com/PrivateAlbums/Corportate/Lighthouse-International-Film-Festival-2026
Did I capture you? send me a DM and I will send you your photos.

Can’t wait for next year!!

02/22/2026

Left behind... Can you see the sadness in the eyes? This is either injured or too old, so the herd just left him behind.