One of the best things that’s happened to us here at For the Love of Brooklyn is meeting loads of the wonderful photographers that contribute to our Flickr group. The unique perspectives they bring to the borough continually impress and inspire me. Now that we’ve seen hundreds of photos from 50+ local photographers, it’s about time to share some great shots!
The photo above is from new-to-Flickr photog pixzels, and features fishermen along the shoreline in Coney Island. So gorgeous, and so calming (especially for the impending Monday morning back at work)!
And while we’re sharing – I definitely want to spread the word about Brooklyn’s own Etsy.com and their awesome (free!) craft nights. The first one of 2010 is TONIGHT in DUMBO (or globally via webcast) and will feature stencil pro Ed Roth [check out a beautiful feature on him here]. For more info about the event, check out Etsy’s blog here.
During this week’s Feature Fridays, we’re excited to present photographer Adam Lerner, whose Brooklyn-based work we’ve admired since first seeing his work featured countless times on Brownstoner. Adam kindly took a few minutes to tell us a bit about himself and all the inspiration he finds on the streets of Brooklyn. Check out the interview below!
Make sure to check out his Flickr photostream here, and the galleries on his official website here!
For the Love of Brooklyn: Where do you live?
Adam Lerner: I live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Born in Manhattan, I’m a 3rd-generation New Yorker. I’ve tried living other places, but am always drawn back to NYC. Prior to living in Williamsburg, I lived in Manhattan; however I completely fell in love with Brooklyn and can’t imagine living in Manhattan.
LoB: Where are your favorite places to shoot?
AL: I really like shooting around Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Bushwick, largely because I tend to explore these places either on foot or bicycle. I am somewhat obsessed with the Williamsburg Bridge and even started a Flickr group for it. Something about the mixed industrial neighborhood with the city in view from almost any location, proximity to the water, etc. always inspires me to shoot.
LoB: What brings you inspiration? Any influences? Neighborhoods in particular?
AL: I think I’m inspired by light, location and people. Sometimes walking my dogs, the light is such that I have to run home and grab the camera. I tend to post a lot of landscape and architectural shots on Flickr, however I enjoy shooting people immensely. I’ve been doing some work shooting documentary and events which has been immensely challenging and fun. I’ve also shot some musicians and actors which is also challenging, but so rewarding. Ideally, I want to tell a story or evoke some sort of emotion through my photos and hope and try to achieve that whether shooting a building, a bridge, or person.
LoB: What’s the craziest photo story you have while shooting in NYC?
AL: Haha, I wish I had a crazy story, but so far, I’ve been lucky with the shooting I’ve done. I guess the nuttiest shoot I did recently was when I spent the day documenting Richie Sambora (yes, of Bon Jovi fame). It was 5 events in one day starting at WPLJ in Manhattan, then Woodbridge, New Jersey. I’d say the coolest part of it all was riding shotgun all day with the Woodbridge police captain in his super-duty police truck. He led a police escort for Richie and his entourage, running lights, blazing sirens and making sure to get me to each location first to get the initial shots of Richie. So, I guess that’s the craziest thing close to NYC.
Thanks so much to Adam for the interview, and have a great weekend!
Yesterday I was on the way to get my teeth drilled (I eat a lot of gummy candy, and I’m perfectly happy with this trade-off), and I passed by this burned taxi right by the High St A/C stop in Brooklyn Heights. The car was still warm and smoking. I don’t really know why this happened, or what caused it (UPDATE: Brooklyn Eagle has the full story), but it was quite the sight to see. It’s reasons like this I always carry a camera with me where ever I go. New York City is a crazy place.
I take this as another justification for never taking cabs. ;)
Even though the days have been cold, colder, and downright frigid, there are signs of life everywhere indicating the impending spring! Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but the trees on the waterfront have growing small buds, delicate and rosy in their severe winter landscape. Though I don’t expect their blooms for months to come, it’s such a lovely reminder of the beauty of Brooklyn in the spring — until then, we can rely on the hope these tiny promises bring.
We here at Love of Brooklyn are getting a little film-obsessed in 2k10. There’s something about the way the grain and old school tones portray my neighborhood that has me melting, in love with everything I see. The shot above is from my new-to-me vintage medium format camera, looking north across the East River from underneath the Manhattan bridge in DUMBO.
Even in the austerity of winter, it’s a fabulous place for a bundled-up picnic, perched on the shores of Brooklyn and with the world at your fingertips!
After a long holiday break and many travels both domestic and abroad, all of us at for the LOVE of BROOKLYN are now back in our fair borough. Happy New Year and best wishes to you and yours! Stay tuned for more coverage, more photos, and follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates!
I took this while riding my bike through my old neighborhood on the Bed-Stuy/Clinton Hill border. Different maps define the neighborhoods differently. When we first rented the place, the Craigslist ad said it was Clinton Hill. However, the car service begged to differ: they always wanted to charge me $5.00 more because they considered it Bed-Stuy.
Bed-Stuy has a bad rap. I know there have been tough times in Bed-Stuy like the race riots of the 60’s and 70’s, but things have changed all over Brooklyn and Bed-Stuy is no exception. The neighborhood has always been lovely with tree-lined streets filled with beautiful churches, brownstones, and row houses. Bed-Stuy continues to provide good transportation (A, C, G, LIRR), proximity to shopping on Fulton Avenue, and good African/Afro-Caribbean food.
It’s getting cold out there. This is a view from my rooftop down Washington Avenue. I enjoy the first few weeks of Winter in New York. I’m usually sick of it after New Years. Soon the holidays will be over, it will start raining everyday, and the streets will be paved with ice until March. I’m actually kind of looking forward to hibernating this Winter. Maybe save some money.
On da Road (Brooklyn Style)
Brooklyn is an enigma. Situated on the westernmost location of Long Island, it forms the entrance to New York Harbor with Staten Island in the geological scheme. When it comes to human emotion, just the mere mention of the word Brooklyn is enough. We know you are not talking about Brooklyn, Ohio or Brooklyn Park, Minnesota but the Brooklyn located in Kings County, New York — the one made famous the world over through literature and media. The place whose greatest resource is the people who call it home.
Once one of six towns making up Kings County itself encompassed what is now the downtown area from Brooklyn Heights down to Red Hook and just into Sunset Park. The other towns were Flatlands, Flatbush, Bushwick, New Utrecht and Gravesend. Williamsburg was a growing village within the township of Bushwick that was granted its own charter and became a city. Within a decade before the Civil War, both Williamsburg and Bushwick were annexed by the city of Brooklyn. The other towns remained agricultural well into the 20th century, yet they were all incorporated to Brooklyn between 1894-1896.
In 1898, Brooklyn itself was annexed to the City of New York. All towns were Dutch except Gravesend, which was founded by a woman, Lady Deborah Moody, who left England in persecution of her beliefs, and came to Brooklyn via a radical Anabaptist sect from Massachusetts. The name Brooklyn itself means Broken Land in the Dutch language.
From the times of the Algonquins, whose place and tribe names still grace many community and place names here, to the European settlement and subsequent annexation into the greatest city in the world, we may live on Broken Land (Breuckelen) in what is arguably the finest collection of residential architecture in a single county in the United States. The past here may not have always been pleasant or fair, but yet in this small county we have not only created a world class image but the image of America itself or what it hopes to be some day. This is why I LOVE Brooklyn.
In our second installment of Feature Fridays, we’re focusing the spotlight on photographer Barry Yanowitz, whose Brooklyn-based work is nothing short of breathtaking. Though his work exhibits a wide breadth of artistic styles, lately, we’ve really been admiring his ability to capture the essence of street art: wonderful shots of graffiti and murals that juxtapose city life with wit and tongue-in-cheek playfulness.
Make sure to check out his entire Flickr photostream here, and the galleries on his official website here! For a taste of his work, check out the great shots below.
Sunday, January 24th, 2010 by Jill
tags: coney island, dumbo, events