Category Archives: Brooklyn

Searching for Color in a New York Winter

Brooklyn Botanical Snow

Torii Gate at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden

Outdoor photographers are confronted with the greatest challenges in winter. The difficult shooting conditions aside, there is so little color to capture, both on the streets and in nature. It’s always tempting to throw in the towel and put winter photos in black and white–an urge that’s sometimes spot-on.  But vibrant color is that much more striking in the dead of winter.  In this photo series, I experiment with no color, highlighted single colors and the closet things to color explosions I’ve been able to find this season.

Many of these photos were first published on my Instagram account: raysnyc

Eastern Parkway in Winter

Eastern Parkway

A blizzard is no excuse to stop recycling

A little snow is no excuse to stop recycling

Frozen Prospect Park Lake

The Lake in Prospect Park

A dog-walking fashion statement!

A dog-walking fashion statement

Eastern Parkway Winter Bench

The First Snow! – Eastern Parkway

Prospect Park Winter Tree

Dusk in Prospect Park

Brooklyn's majestic Grand Army Plaza in a blizzard

Brooklyn’s majestic Grand Army Plaza in a blizzard

Gotta get the kids home!

Gotta get the kids home!

Williamsburg Drone Sunset

Get your drones on! – Williamsburg, Brooklyn

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Filed under Brooklyn, New York, Parks, Photography

Ray’s Brooklyn, Forgotten No More

One of the best parts of my job is how much I get to explore.  Last year I centered my wanderings mostly on Manhattan since that is where the lion’s share of this city’s tours take place.  This season, however, I have been making a concerted effort to specialize in Brooklyn–my home and the part of New York I love most.

I created my original Brooklyn Heights/DUMBO Walking Tour, now my most popular tour, and listed myself on Brooklyn’s TripAdvisor site.  Soon I plan to roll out a number of new Brooklyn tours focusing on neighborhoods like Fort Greene and Williamsburg.  Someday I hope even give a tour of the neighborhood that is nearest and dearest to me: my home, Flatbush/Ditmas Park.

As I explore, I take photos with my cell phone, point-and-shoot or digital SLR camera, depending on what I felt like lugging around on any given day.  Here are 10 of my favorite “Forgotten Brooklyn” photos of back alleys, hidden vistas and urban curiosities.  Click to enlarge…and enjoy!

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Greenpoint Graffiti

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Dog walkers on hidden College Place – Brooklyn Heights

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This must be the Joad’s old truck! – Vinegar Hill

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Thrift Store – Ditmas Park

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That’s my train! – Ditmas Park     

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Quarters A: the one-time home of the Commandant of the navy – Vinegar Hill

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Just a couple days of rain in the fall will bring these guys out – Ditmas Park

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The last trolley I know of in Brooklyn – Red Hook

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The commanding Prison Ship Martyr’s Monument, from below! – Fort Greene

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Mikey and the street art of DUMBO

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Filed under Brooklyn, General, Neighborhoods, Photography