Do I revisit a place or should I explore somewhere new? My decision-making in answer to this question about my next photoshoot is made easier when I remember that the old can also be new.
When I returned recently to the Brooklyn Bridge, I searched for fresh vantage points to capture the structure anew. But I also revisited spots to re-photograph a familiar scene in a new light, or employ different perspectives to replace photos on my website with better captures. Better photos are always the ultimate goal. The new, I’ve realized, isn’t necessarily better, but taking new approaches is often a more promising path toward improvement.
Here, in the accompanying captions, I explain my approach for each shot in my quest to always outcompete only myself.
I hiked a hill-like incline at the bridge’s Manhattan-bound entrance to take my first shots of the bridge from that spot.
I returned to Plymouth Street in Brooklyn, which aligns with the bridge’s tower, to retake this perspective that brings viewers into the crannies of its cobblestones. I wanted to capture the sky more clearly and got an assist from clouds.
When walking across the bridge I try to recapture the Lower Manhattan skyline through its web of cables, but here I put a spin on this repeat shot by having a cable come into my lens.
Again, I get up-close-and-personal with a feature of the bridge, a succession of rivets that trickle right into my camera.
I’m forever searching for that perspective in which the bridge’s cables are crisscrossing maximally. I think I finally found it while shooting the top of this tower.
I returned to a highpoint on the walkway that affords me this long perspective above the pedestrians that showcases the verticality of the cables.
Housed in a former warehouse and coffee roasting facility, Empire Stores features retail shops, restaurants, a rooftop beer garden, and a museum of the Brooklyn Historical Society. I took this picture from the same perch as the top shot above but with a focus on the roofless observation deck.
The early morning sun casting a pattern of cable shadows on the walkway made this standard eye-level shot more interesting.
As I walked once again along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade I recognized how crisp the morning sky was, so I snapped this profile of the bridge in all it’s well-defined glory.