NYC-Brooklyn Advice Needed

[parasko]

Hi folks,

I haven't posted on this site for ages and I'm getting back into photography after a hiatus so I am seeking your advice.

To help my photography resurgence I am going to NYC for 11 nights. I have been to Manhattan once before and so I have done some of the touristy stuff (Times Square, Ellis Island, B&H 😉 etc) but I've never explored the other boroughs and I'm thinking about splitting my time between Manhattan and Brooklyn. This seems like a sensible thing to do financially but I just wanted to find out how safe or gritty areas of Brooklyn can be, best places to photograph etc.

My trip will be solely to take photos and I'm travelling alone. I'm currently looking to stay via Airbnb around the Fort Greene/Clinton Hill area which looks suburban, slightly trendy and safe. I figure from here it is not that far to trendy Williamsburg, Bushwick, Coney Island, Queens etc (when I say not far, I'm coming from Australia so relatively speaking 🙂 ).

I will be going in mid-October and I plan on taking my Leica M7-35mm Cron and possibly also my 50mm Cron (I usually shoot 95% with a 35mm). I also have a truckload of Provia 100 in the fridge but at that time of year will I need 400 ISO film instead (in which case I'll have to consider B&W options)?

Sorry for the rant but any help is appreciated whether it be about the geography or photography options.

Thanks in advance.

Barry

 

[JChrome]

Hi Barry,
Welcome to New York. Glad you are looking to visit Brooklyn.

Fort Greene is a safe area and I highly doubt you'll find an unsafe place in Brooklyn. Sure, they exist but they're well off the beaten path.

What kind of street photography do you like?


www.stillthrill.com

 

[sepiareverb]

Get off the subway at City Hall and walk your way towards Union Square. Magnificent half a day.

 

[Pablito]

Well, the most interesting parts of NYC are the ones that some might consider unsafe 🙂

 

[nongfuspring]

Clinton Hill, Fort Green, Park Slope etc., are pretty pleasant to amble around. The Bedford part of Williamsburg is nauseatingly hip, but good has good restaurants and can get pretty weird after midnight. Greenpoint is like a more mature, residential version of Williamsburg, has nice parks, a polish community (???) and Kubus Photo which is probably the cheapest place that still does 1 hour C41 developing in NYC. You could probably walk form Clinton Hill to Greenpoint via Williamsburg in a day fairly comfortably. IMO Bushwick is a bit overrated, mostly industrial space peppered with hipsters and it's one of the few places I would be hesitant to walk around at night. Good pizza there though.

The native NYCers will give better advice.

 

[mwoenv]

Certain parts of Bushwick are rough, like it all was from the 1950s until recently. That's the way the newly-trendy Brooklyn neighborhoods are - wander a couple of blocks out of the trendy zone and you're in the old slums. I'd be careful.

 

[kshapero]

I go to NYC often. Usually make a pilgrimage to Photo Village in the Flat Iron District of Manhattan. A great area for street shooting, plus you get to spend some hard earned money at a local small photo shop specializing in Rangefinders, a rarity.

 

[parasko]

Certain parts of Bushwick are rough, like it all was from the 1950s until recently. That's the way the newly-trendy Brooklyn neighborhoods are - wander a couple of blocks out of the trendy zone and you're in the old slums. I'd be careful.

Thanks to everyone for your comments so far.

mwoenv, I have read that in some US cities the difference between hipster to gritty to dangerous can sometimes be a few blocks and that is why I originally asked.

Brooklyn looks interesting for this reason but I wanted to get a sense of how safe it is for instance to be photographing all the street art around Wyckoff Ave in Bushwick or to photograph some of the industrial landscape without getting mugged (or worse my Leica stolen 😛). Is the area around Prospect Park safe? Any recommendations on interesting places to shoot (no pun intended 🙂 ), street photography or otherwise?

 

[ornate_wrasse]

One thing you should experience is walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. It's better to start in Brooklyn and walk towards Manhattan. Here's a view starting out in Brooklyn that I shot with my M6

Or, you can go at sunset and shoot images like this one that I took with my M3

My twenty something daughter lived in Bushwick when she first moved to New York. The neighborhood was ethnically Puerto Rican. Even though some parts can be rough, she never had a problem. The locals, in one incident, were actually very protective of her when someone approached her in a bad way (as in, "leave her alone, she lives here").

I don't know how old you are, but you very well might like Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, especially if you're in your twenties. My daughter would have loved to live there but couldn't afford it. I actually stayed in Williamsburg near Bedford Avenue at an AirBnB several times and loved the vibe of the neighborhood. Great restaurants and coffee shops. among other things.

October is a good time of the year to go to NYC. The stifling heat and humidity of the summer will have passed and it's before the really cold weather and snow of the winter.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[nongfuspring]

Is the area around Prospect Park safe?

Definitely. The park is flanked by two of the most well off neighborhoods in Brooklyn. FYI it has a pretty nice botanical garden and the Brooklyn Art Museum.

 

[jreid]

Some ideas:
-ride the Staten Island Ferry, it's free and the views on deck of Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn are great, as is the chance to observe people
-ride the East River Ferry for a good view of Brooklyn on one side and Manhattan's East Side on the other (this one you have to pay for)
-Wall Street has become a strange tourist destination but the area around it is great for playing with light and shadow
-Walking the Brooklyn Bridge is wonderful but walking the Manhattan Bridge might be better, fewer tourists and you get the view of the Brooklyn Bridge
-If you're thinking of doing the Empire State Building also consider the Rockefeller Center option, Top of the Rock, which is, like ESB, a tourist trap but the Rock's observation decks are more spacious and you get the view of the city that includes the ESB (of course, both buildings charge plenty for the experience)
-Relax on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, or walk Brooklyn Bridge Park, and just a little north explore "Dumbo", the now-chichy neighborhood where the Manhattan Bridge anchorages sit.
-Try Greenwood Cemetery and Sunset Park areas in Brooklyn for a feel of real neighborhoods.
-if you go to Coney Island also consider Brighton Beach, right next door, for a taste of Russian emigre life

 

[sepiareverb]

You could cross the Brooklyn Bridge as advised and head up towardsUnion Square, then it's not far to Phot Village. Sounds like a great day!

 

[JChrome]

Thanks to everyone for your comments so far.



mwoenv, I have read that in some US cities the difference between hipster to gritty to dangerous can sometimes be a few blocks and that is why I originally asked.



Brooklyn looks interesting for this reason but I wanted to get a sense of how safe it is for instance to be photographing all the street art around Wyckoff Ave in Bushwick or to photograph some of the industrial landscape without getting mugged (or worse my Leica stolen 😛). Is the area around Prospect Park safe? Any recommendations on interesting places to shoot (no pun intended 🙂 ), street photography or otherwise?

Take it for what it's worth but living in Williamsburg for 6 years has me convinced that there are few unsafe areas I shouldn't go. I've wandered well outside on my neighborhood and do it often, even through some of the putatively most dangerous areas only to find they are fine. I had a friend in Bedford Stuyvescent see someone get shot so certain parts of that neighborhood Id be more careful in.

But most claims of things being unsafe are overblown and made by people who don't live there. In fact, one crusty street photographer I met claimed "the old NYC was much grittier and more dangerous, it's hard to find danger in this city any longer"


www.stillthrill.com

 

[parasko]

Thanks for the further comments...keep the advice coming if you can...

JChrome, I love your Burn & Dust images! Did you shoot with the Fuji 6x9 handheld? That thing is huge!!...To answer your previous question the style of street photography I like involves images with vibrant colours with harsh light and shadows...think Alex Webb, Harry Gruyaert, Constantine Manos etc. The subject matter doesn't really matter because for me it's all about light (I live in Sydney which has a lot of sunny days-even our winters are sunny for the most part 🙂).

I'm assuming New York is mostly cloudy in mid-October so my usual Provia 100 may not cut it for this trip.

 

[De_Corday]

It's like anything: keep your wits about you and you will (generally) be safe. My wife and I live in the western section of crown heights. Right near Prospect Park (PP is huge by the way. Way more than a few neighborhoods abut on to it. From Prospect Height's small shops in the north, Windsor Terrace's relative suburban charm to the south, Park Slope's Yuppie feel to the west ... )
I walk around with my leica on my shoulder daily. I walk home late at night regularly.
Used to be in Ft Greene back when that was affordable. Great place to stay.
There was a time when I would be hesitant to flash so much as a cell phone on the subway. Nowadays people are working on their laptops on the way in to work.
Brooklyn is a fascinating place to photograph. I recommend getting off the "beaten path" a bit. Head south, go to Bay Ridge. Head to Sunset Park. Go north to the parts of Greenpoint that are still full of Polish immigrants. If you can stomach a long subway ride, head to Jackson Heights in Queens -- major center of culture for the city's Indian, Pakistani, and South East Asian populations. You could live in this city all your life and only see 1/3 of it.

 

[JChrome]

Thanks for the further comments...keep the advice coming if you can...

JChrome, I love your Burn & Dust images! Did you shoot with the Fuji 6x9 handheld? That thing is huge!!...To answer your previous question the style of street photography I like involves images with vibrant colours with harsh light and shadows...think Alex Webb, Harry Gruyaert, Constantine Manos etc. The subject matter doesn't really matter because for me it's all about light (I live in Sydney which has a lot of sunny days-even our winters are sunny for the most part 🙂).

I'm assuming New York is mostly cloudy in mid-October so my usual Provia 100 may not cut it for this trip.

Thank you for the compliment! Yep, I shoot mainly with 6x9 (or larger) cameras and that Fuji GW690's EBC coated lens is a stunner for color photography. It's also incredibly well built and lightweight. I can't say enough good things about it.

So vibrant colors huh? The Autumn has some nice leaves turning red for color but obviously the folks on the street become more dark when the jackets and coats come on. That can depend on the neighborhood though. Certain cultures simply dress more vibrant than others.

For vibrant dress, I'd head to 125 and Lexington (Harlem). Each corner on that intersection is bustling with life. Keep your wits about you there though. I've had some folks yell at me before.

Another spot is Coney Island. A very colorful place. The Iron Triangle in Queens is a great place and one that is being demolished soon so I'd check it before it's gone (also colorful as all get out). If you give this forum a search, there's discussion of this spot elsewhere.


www.stillthrill.com

 

[ornate_wrasse]

For vibrant dress, I'd head to 125 and Lexington (Harlem). Each corner on that intersection is bustling with life.

I second the idea of going to Harlem. Here is an example of vibrant dress

Here's the man wearing the boots

There's a lot more to Harlem than just vibrant dress, though. I personally did a walking tour of Harlem, led by a knowledgable and friendly long-time Harlem resident. It was well worth the money spent. You can also go to a church service on Sunday at a Harlem church. It's probably a slice of life you won't see in Australia. However, it is not close to Brooklyn.

 

[MrFujicaman]

You need to send a PM to Calzone and/or NY Dan...They photograph in NYC and Brooklyn all the time.

 

[jsrockit]

Just get off the train anywhere and walk, walk walk... serious, that is what all of us who photograph NYC do.

Without knowing what you want to photograph, it is hard to give advice. To me, everywhere is photograph-able.

As far as danger... sure, there are parts that aren't smart to go to at night. However, as someone else said, they are off the beaten path. However, just yesterday a guy with a pistol chased another guy in Harlem, shot and killed an innocent bystander. It's a city, and stuff happens even if generally safe. Anyone who says that there are no unsafe areas, hasn't looked hard enough. However, it's the safest the city has been in many many years. Oh, and depending on your race / look the different reactions will be in certain areas. People will call stuff out at you, but generally there's no issue.

There are many NYC street photographers on this site and many of us photograph with one another on occasion. Ask specific questions and we will be able to lead you to areas that will fit what you want to do. As far as doing Alex Webb, I wish it was as easy as telling you where to go.

 

[jsrockit]

If you can stomach a long subway ride, head to Jackson Heights in Queens -- major center of culture for the city's Indian, Pakistani, and South East Asian populations.

Let's not forget the Latinos.