Brooklyn Photography Pocket Guide
Shortcuts:
- Image Collection
- Brooklyn Travel Photography Tips
- Using the Subway
- Is Brooklyn safe?
- Locations to Photograph
- Food and Drink: eating cheap
- conclusions about brooklyn photography
- your rights as a photographer
- photo gear used
About this Post
Getting ready to visit Brooklyn and need a photography pocket guide? Welcome to the Brooklyn Photography Pocket Guide blog post, which can be referenced for a 3 day trip to Brooklyn. This is a pocket book guide as well as photo gallery that I will continue to update.
This New York borough has several recognizable landmarks to check off from the photography bucket list. This article also discusses how to use the finer details that I think makes the industrial city such a great place to creative aesthetic photographs. I thought I would share some travel tips and photography tricks to help influence a smoother visit and maybe help get more creative photos by sharing some of my own shots from the image collection below.
Image Collection
Here are a few images I have selected from Brooklyn on black and white film.
The backstories and camera techniques are described here.
Brooklyn Photography Tips
Make a Custom Google Map
Creating a custom map helps with the planning process – what location to visit on what day. Create the map on a desktop computer or laptop first. Creating drop-pins using the phone app doesn’t work as easily.
Using the Subway
Quick Tips
- Watch a 15 min Video
- Use mobile app and the MTA map
- Metro Card: the Unlimited option
- Take a taxi from the airport though
- Express vs. Local subways
- Use the Signage to know what train to get on
Use mobile apps and the MTA Map
I found the Apple maps provided train routes involving fewer transfers. I find that it is also more user-friendly. Google map doesn’t seem as accurate as it used to be but can provide more verbose details about the destination and also streetview feature is helpful. After searching for your destination just change the mode of transportation to transportation to subway and it will give you the station name , and what what train to take.
Getting Subway Tickets
Use either and OMNI pass or a Metro card. You purchase them at a machine at the bottom the subway stairs or from clerk at a ticket booth next to it .The Unlimited metro card is most efficient for a 3 to 7 day visit. It is $32 dollars nad you get unlimited rides. The OMNI pass you can download the app to your phone but is $2.90 per ride. During my visit I rode the subway about 10 times per day so it was better to use the Metro MTA card.
Getting To and From the Airport
Take a taxi. (LGA or JFK They are waiting outside the airport exit offering rides. A taxi ride from Laguardia to Brooklyn was about $50. Otherwise you’ll have to walk to a subway station or wait for your Uber to show up.
Safety Tip:
When exiting an airport keep an eye out for scams as “many illegal solicitors are unlicensed and uninsured”. Don’t take a ride from a car service you didn’t order through the app unless it’s a yellow taxi.
Express vs. Local
Local trains, such as C and E, make more frequent stops. But and express train such as the A, make fewer stops. If you get on an express line thinking it’s a local, you might miss your stop and have to backtrack. There are more subway trains that are “Local”. Watch this video covering the A.C.E. line.
Follow the Flow of Traffic
Most stations will have two entry points. Pick the side that follows with the flow of traffic in the direct you are going. Some have an underpass to the other side, but if not, you’ll have to go back out and cross the street and the Unlimited Metro card isn’t usable until 18 minutes after it has been swiped.
Using the Signage for Directions
This is important. When walking through the subway station there are signs that tell you what train goes where for that station. The destination point on the sign is always going to be the termination point for that line, which is the very last stop for that line if you look at a map.
Using the Ferry
Staten Island and The Statue of Liberty
This Staten Island Ferry is free and runs 24hrs a day. The ferry station is in lower Manhattan pier and will take you to Staten Island. You pass the statue of liberty on the way.
Is Brooklyn Safe?
Depends on the neighborhood
Here is a color graded Crime Map with brief statistics. Consider the what neighborhood you walking through and the time of day you are out. Areas like Dumbo, Brooklyn Heights, and Park Slope have had an increase in rent and mortgage rates in recent years. As a result there was a sharp decrease in crime. It is still a major city, though, and pickpockets do happen. Don’t Call the Police if you’re just reporting something that happened. Also, only a third of the fire alarm posts still work.
Food & Drink: eating cheap
Get a free slice with your beer
At the Alligator Lounge in Williamsburg, a free personal sized pizza comes free with any beer.
Food Trucks
In sunset park there they host a Smorgesburg event on saturday with several different kinds of food trucks (with great plant-based options). This can be a way to save money. Otherwise, you’ll commonly see Halal Carts parked variously in Brooklyn. One thing to be cautious of is whether not the vendor lists prices on their menu. If the vendor doesn’t have prices listed they will sometimes charge whatever they think they can get away with.
Ethnic Cuisines
Stop in at the local mom and pop shops. The prices are sometimes more affordable but some could also use the support since gentrification is pushing a lot of places out of business. Sunset Park for example, is known for it’s diverse culture. New York slices are everywhere but you can get also get authentic neopolitan style. I recommend Pizza Secret on 5th ave Brooklyn.
Thrift Clothing Stores
You could throw a dart at a map blindfolded and probably hit a thrift store. There are some great options all throughout Brooklyn. If you’re looking for something affordable and stylish try Monk or Buffalo Exchange in Williamsburg.
Locations To Photograph in Brooklyn
Below I have listed a few notable photography opportunities in Brooklyn.
Dumbo
- Historic Industrial Buildings
- Brooklyn Bridge
- Brooklyn Bridge Park
- Manhattan Bridge
- Views of lower manhattan
- Subways
Williamburg
- Views of Midtown Manhattan
- German neighborhoods
- Bedford Ave
- Thrift Cloths Shops
- Domino
- Williamsburg Bridge
- Not many subways
Brooklyn Heights
- Celebrity’s houses
- Brownstowns
- Front Stoops
- Wraught iron gates
- Deli’s with vintage signs
- Early 1800’s Wood Houses
- Victorian Mansions (brothels)
- Love Lane Carage Houses
Park Slope
- Brownstones
- More Front Stoops
- Wraught iron gates
- Deli’s with vintage signs
- Prospect Park
- Brooklyn Museum
- Smorgesburg
Resources
Other Inspirations
- Elliott Erwitt street photography
- Robert Frank street photography
- Saul Leiter street photography
- New York in Color
- Subway Galleries
Dumbo
Industrial Historic District
For a long time the industrial warehouses sat abandoned since the manufacturers left the city during post-war years. Most of the industrial buildings have been repurposed. The view of the Manhattan Bridge is found here. One of the best vantage points of the Brooklyn Bridge is publicly accessible from Hariet’s rooftop bar.
Park Slope
Brownstones
Tree lined neighborhood streets and brownstone houses comes to mind here. Wrought iron fences and gothic cathedrals create a nice backdrop for photographing. Prospect park and the Brooklyn Musuem are a walk away. The museum is free and has a collection of photography by pictorialists such as Alfred Steiglitz, Edward Steichen and Paul Strand. Stop in at Pizza Secret for some Neopolitan brick oven pizza.
Brooklyn Heights
Victorian celebrity mansions
Brooklyn Heights is one of the most upscale historic neighborhoods in Brooklyn. It sits right between Dumbo and Park Slope. Be sure to walk over to the Brooklyn Bridge park to get a nice view of lower Manhattan. You can find relics such as Love Lane carage houses and also a house that was owned by Truman Capote.
Williamsburg
Bedford Avenue
In this german town there are a large concentration of thrift stores, live music, and bars. Bedford ave, in particular has a lot of foot traffic up and down so it makes a good spot for ‘street’ photography. Try Domino Park to see what they’ve done with the old Domino Sugar factory and get a view of midtown Manhattan and the north side of the Manhattan bridge.
Camera Stores and Repair Shops
B&H Photo Supply
This vendor is already well known but it is a great go-to photo supply since you can get almost anything you need in delivered or pick it up in-store. It’s located in Hell’s Kitchen (Lower West Side Manhattan).
The Camera Doctor
Located not far away from B&H in Hell’s Kitchen. This place is professional, reasonalbly priced and they specialize in vintage camera repairs. I shipped my Rolleiflex 2.8E to them before arriving in NY and they repaired it quickly so I could pick it up in store. It took about 3 weeks.
Accurate Photo Shop
Located in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. They’ve been in business for 40 years and provide same day development. I dropped off a roll of black and white 120mm film that was a test roll for the Rollei repair. They scanned the images and sent me a WeTransfer download link that evenening. The total was $21.
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Conclusion about Brooklyn Photography
Brooklyn is the place to go for capturing photographs with that “timeless” key ingredient. The main photogenic backdrops of Brooklyn would be the bridges, victorian houses with wrought iron gates, and historic industrial warehouses. There’s also a ton of vintage storefront signs for the nostalgic film photographer. Fashion is also big in Brooklyn and there are dense foot traffic areas scattered throughout the borough.
Tip:
Check the ACLU site Know your rights as a photographer. Anything is up for grabs, photographically, as long as it is in public view. If you’re stopped by a security guard for photographing, be respectful but also know that photographing isn’t illegal unless you are trespassing on private property including the sidewalk.
Helpful Resources
Fim & Repair
- NYC Film processing
- Accurate Photo Shop
New York Navigation
- MTA Map Download
- Taxi: LGA & JFK
Street Inspiration
- Elliott Erwitt street photography
- Robert Frank street photography
- Vivian Meier
- Subway Galleries
Abstract Inspiration
- Man Ray
- Edward Steichen
- Saul Leiter
- Ralph Gibson