NY Through the Lens - New York City Photography

Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Hewes Street.

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With layers of dirt and paint under our nails from constantly peeling back the layers of this city, it’s not the stars we seek.

It’s the light that seeps through…

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View “Williamsburg- Brooklyn - Hewes Street Overpass in the Afternoon” in my photography portfolio here, email me, or ask for help.

Urban decay and graffiti on Canal Street. Chinatown, New York City.

New York City changes and evolves at a rapid pace. In certain areas, changes occur faster than others. Lower Manhattan is one place that has changed the most in the last decade. Development happens fast and the current trends are extremely tall buildings constructed mostly of glass, chain stores and luxury boutiques. In neighborhoods that were once bohemian and home to artists and rebels, these current changes have been hard to swallow for long-time residents who run the risk of being out-priced out of the neighborhoods they have called home for decades.

Despite these changes, there are still parts of lower Manhattan that recall earlier decades. New York City suffered economically in the 1970s and it was during this decade that much of lower Manhattan was transformed into a danger zone full of abandoned lots and buildings and rampant crime. Having grown up in New York City in the 1980s and early 1990s, I have vivid memories of riding graffiti-covered trains from Queens into Manhattan. I was taught to ‘watch my back’ at all times since everyone seemed to know someone who had been mugged. Things were still different in those days prior to the initiatives by mayors Koch and Guiliani to ‘clean up’ the city (and discourse is still rampant regarding how they handled it).

When I came across this section of Canal Street initially, my heart almost leaped out of my chest. Here I was staring at a section of a spot in Chinatown that seemed as if it had been dipped in 1980s New York City and had become frozen in time (thankfully I had my camera). It’s hard to put into words how powerful this scene is for personally. It’s a bit like staring at something that once existed in a distant life.

A city may change rapidly discarding pieces of itself, but it’s the people who carry it’s broken pieces with them in their hearts who imbue the city with its memory.

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I also wanted to share a bit of current news regarding this image. A client contacted me a few weeks back regarding setting up a contract to use this photo as a full wall mural in their upcoming restaurant in the UK. Super excited to see how it turns out. I have seen the mock-ups and I can’t wait to see it when it is finished.

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View this photo larger and on black on my Google Plus page

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Buy “In Another Place and Time - Chinatown - New York City” Posters and Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

Street art on a store gate. Lower East Side, New York City.

Store gates slumber in the folds of the day when the sun and clouds fall over the city like exhaled breath wrapping the cityscape in sleepy thoughts.

And on these slumbering store gates, dreamscapes unfold surrounded by the discarded remnants of every yesterday and every today.

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View this photo larger and on black on my Google Plus page

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Buy “Every Yesterday - Lower East Side - New York City” Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

I was interviewed last night by the wonderful Thomas Hawk and the lovely Lotus Carroll on their on-air live show called Phototalk Plus.

I was super nervous and there were some weird (but funny, in retrospect) technical difficulties but they were finally able to get me on the phone and everything went smooth after that. I really enjoyed the questions from them and the super active and hyper live audience.

So, if you ever wanted to hear me answer questions about how I got started with photography (which admittedly is fairly crazy, at least when I think about it), my thoughts about shooting in New York City, my thoughts about cameras and post-processing/editing as well as some talk about noodles (yes, really!), you may just enjoy this video (my full interview starts at 49:00):

Photo Talk Plus, Episode 14, With Special Guest Vivienne Gucwa

Enjoy!

(I decided to accompany this post with one of the photos I talked about briefly during the show, one of my favorite examples of industrial urban decay here in New York City: The Domino Sugar Factory in Brooklyn)

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Buy “Oxidation - Domino Sugar Factory - New York City” Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

Red Hook Stores at 480 Brunt Street. Red Hook, Brooklyn. New York City

480 Brunt Street is a Civil War-era storehouse located in the Red Hook Waterfront Historic District in Brooklyn.

Red Hook, located in Northwestern Brooklyn was settled in 1636 by Dutch Colonists who named the area Roode Hoek (red point) after the red hue of the soil and because the area jutted out into the water. Due to its waterfront location, ships from all over the world would dock at Red Hook to exchange cargo and make repairs for well over a century. When many of the shipyards were relocated in the 20th century, the area fell was marked by significant urban decay.

The building in this photo, known as the Red Hook Stores, was built in 1869 by the builder William Beard. Beard, who was an Irish immigrant made millions via his building and railroad empire. At the end of the Civil War, New York City was receiving such a large amount of goods that Manhattan could not handle all of the cargo. Brooklyn’s waterfront became the alternative and warehouses like this one played a crucial role in offloading cargo like grain, cotton, hemp, jute, indigo, leather, fruits, tobacco, vegetables, cocoa beans and coffee. This building now houses a Fairway Market and apartment residences. The beautiful iron shutters that give this warehouse building so much charm were initially built to protect the precious cargo stored in the warehouse from the elements.

The decayed trolley cars which sit in the foreground also have an interesting link to the past. In the 20th century, there were many trolley lines that criss-crossed the Brooklyn landscape and served as transportation for residents. The trolleys were in use until the 1950s. To celebrate the trolleys that would have been seen here for many years, these trolleys were acquired and put in front of the Red Hook Stores permanently. They aren’t from New York City originally though. The trolley cars were acquired from Boston and Oslo and were repainted to match the original color scheme of the trolleys that would have been found in Brooklyn in the beginning of the 20th century. Worn by time and natural elements, they are beautiful examples of urban decay.

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View this photo larger and on black on my Google Plus page

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Buy “Times Tells Its Own Tale - 480 Van Brunt Street - Red Hook Stores - Fairway Market - Brooklyn - New York City” Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

Urban decay on Canal Street. Chinatown, New York City.

New York City changes and evolves at a rapid pace. In certain areas, changes occur faster than others. Lower Manhattan is one place that has changed the most in the last decade. Development happens fast and the current trends are extremely tall buildings constructed mostly of glass, chain stores and luxury boutiques. In neighborhoods that were once bohemian and home to artists and rebels, these current changes have been hard to swallow for long-time residents who run the risk of being out-priced out of the neighborhoods they have called home for decades.

Despite these changes, there are still parts of lower Manhattan that recall earlier decades. New York City suffered economically in the 1970s and it was during this decade that much of lower Manhattan was transformed into a danger zone full of abandoned lots and buildings and rampant crime. Having grown up in New York City in the 1980s and early 1990s, I have vivid memories of riding graffiti-covered trains from Queens into Manhattan. I was taught to ‘watch my back’ at all times since everyone seemed to know someone who had been mugged. Things were still different in those days prior to the initiatives by mayors Koch and Guiliani to ‘clean up’ the city (and discourse is still rampant regarding how they handled it).

When I came across this section of Canal Street initially, my heart almost leaped out of my chest. Here I was staring at a section of a spot in Chinatown that seemed as if it had been dipped in 1980s New York City and had become frozen in time (thankfully I had my camera). It’s hard to put into words how powerful this scene is for personally. It’s a bit like staring at something that once existed in a distant life.

A city may change rapidly discarding pieces of itself, but it’s the people who carry it’s broken pieces with them in their hearts who imbue the city with its memory.

—-

View this photo larger and on black on my Google Plus page

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Buy “In Another Place and Time - Chinatown - New York City” Posters and Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

Chinatown rooftop graffiti. Two Bridges, New York City.

New York City is an urban layer cake.

This is another one of my favorite views in lower Manhattan. It’s a small segment of an entire universe that exists above millions of New Yorkers.

Layers of colorful graffiti cover the rooftops of these Chinatown apartment buildings as rooftop doors blow open in the wind and colorful clothing sways on clotheslines high above the city below.

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View this photo larger and on black on my Google Plus page

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Buy “Chinatown Rooftop Graffiti - New York City” Posters and Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

Domino Sugar Factory illuminated by sunlight. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. New York City.

There is something remarkably touching about urban decay. It is as if sorrow and longing can be traced in the peeling layers and crumbling brick. In warm sunlight, the rich colors created by iron oxidation produce the most beautiful textures on old pipes and metal framework. The memory of those who graced the intricate insides of these structures is delicately preserved by the faded remnants that remain.

During the period following the Civil War, New York was the top provider of refined sugar to the United States, and for a period of time the Domino Sugar factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn was the largest sugar refinery in the world. At one time, the factory employed over 4,000 workers and processed 3 million pounds of sugar a day.

After nearly 150 years of service, the factory shut down in 2004 due to a decline in demand. There is a new plan for this space to make it a residential space which is being actively protested by groups like the Waterfront Preservation Alliance and the Landmarks Conservancy who believe that huge development in this space would destroy the history and architectural legacy of the sugar factory. I am inclined to agree with their assessment.

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View this photo larger and on black on my Google Plus page

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Buy “Oxidation - Domino Sugar Factory - New York City” Posters and Prints here, email me, ask for help, or subscribe to the mailing list.

Street art on a store gate. Lower East Side, New York City.

Layers of paint, grit, decay and meaning make me fall in love with New York City over and over again.

Elaborate painted dreamscapes unfold on slumbering store gates surrounded by the discarded remnants of every yesterday and today.

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View this photo larger and on black on my Google Plus page

—-

Buy “Every Yesterday - Lower East Side - New York City” Posters and Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

Urban decay. Chinatown, New York City.

New York City changes and evolves at a rapid pace. In certain areas, changes occur faster than others. Lower Manhattan is one place that has changed the most in the last decade. Development happens fast and the current trends are extremely tall buildings constructed mostly of glass, chain stores and luxury boutiques. In neighborhoods that were once bohemian and home to artists and rebels, these current changes have been hard to swallow for long-time residents who run the risk of being out-priced out of the neighborhoods they have called home for decades.

Despite these changes, there are still parts of lower Manhattan that recall earlier decades. New York City suffered economically in the 1970s and it was during this decade that much of lower Manhattan was transformed into a danger zone full of abandoned lots and buildings and rampant crime. Having grown up in New York City in the 1980s and early 1990s, I have vivid memories of riding graffiti-covered trains from Queens into Manhattan. I was taught to ‘watch my back’ at all times since everyone seemed to know someone who had been mugged. Things were still different in those days prior to the initiatives by mayors Koch and Guiliani to ‘clean up’ the city (and discourse is still rampant regarding how they handled it).

When I came across this section of Canal Street while walking home from getting groceries a few months back, my heart almost leaped out of my chest. Here I was staring at a section of a spot in Chinatown that seemed as if it had been dipped in 1980s New York City and had become frozen in time (thankfully I had my camera). It’s hard to put into words how powerful this scene is for personally. It’s a bit like staring at something that once existed in a distant life.

A city may change rapidly discarding pieces of itself, but it’s the people who carry it’s broken pieces with them in their hearts who imbue the city with its memory.

—-

View this photo larger and on black on my Google Plus page

—-

Buy “Decay” Posters and Prints here, View my store, email me, or ask for help.

The last days of Mars Bar. East Village, New York City

I have written about Mars Bar and its demise many times now, I know. However, there is something about this image that resonates with me.

It was taken a few weeks back on an oppressively humid and rainy day. I was on my way to my local grocery store which is in the same area and I stopped to talk to a Mars Bar regular who was standing and staring wistfully at the wall in the image in this post. We talked about the history of the street art on the facade, his life in the East Village twenty years ago and he shared some off-the-wall stories about his experiences at Mars Bar over the years. He wanted to know why I wanted photos of “the joint”.

I looked at him and said “I want to possess a relic of that certain something that is long gone from this neighborhood, that something that Mars Bar possesses that can’t quite be found here in the East Village anymore.” He looked at me, took a long drag of his cigarette and then nodded in agreement.

A few days ago, Gothamist published an opinion article called Mars Bar Will Close In “Four To Six Weeks” And That Is OK which incited some passionate comments. A key quote from the article was: “If you loved Mars Bar you should mourn it (you loved it after all) and move on. Trust us, the owners will be fine. But please—oh, please—when it finally closes can we not turn it into the commercialized fake memory that CBGB’s has become, with T-shirts sold to tourists by the truckload? Because, to use a phase often heard in the bar, fuck that.”

I agree with this sentiment. I appreciate the mourning for the loss of Mars Bar because the mourning is really over the loss of many of the things that made the East Village into something special years ago. It’s the loss of that certain something that drove us to the East Village and the Lower East Side initially, the hard edged creativity fueled not by development money but by little more than dreams and gumption. It’s hard to not mourn, quite frankly.

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Decay on Canal Street. Chinatown, New York City.

Buy “Decay on Canal Street” Posters and Prints here, View my store, email me, or ask for help.

I took this particular photo a week or so ago while I was walking home from grocery shopping in Chinatown. Quite a bit of downtown Manhattan is being modernized so this little pocket of Canal Street really struck a chord with me since in that particular moment it seemed to possess a timeless quality. There is something about this scene that recalls the New York City of the 1980s.

Lower East Side, Manhattan.

The winter gives New York City a more clearly defined edge. It’s an edge that can be found off the beaten path during nights when the windchill dips into the negative. The lights flicker like icy cold stars leading the way down alleys and streets not well traversed late at night. Smoke gasps from building pipes into the frigid air, a small but poignant sign of life.

(Clicking through the photo will take you to where it is located on Flickr where you can see larger versions and/or more information.)