Brooklyn Navy Yard Fall Photo Finalists Capture NYC’s Working Waterfront

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As winter approaches, it means another year of Brooklyn Navy Yard Seasonal Photography Tours is in the books, and we’re happy to announce the final set of three finalists in our annual photo contest, chosen from the submissions from our fall tour earlier this month. These three will join the winter, spring, and summer selections in a gallery of 12 finalists that will be displayed later this year in the Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at BLDG 92. You will also have the chance to vote for your favorites in our annual People’s Choice Award voting, both online and at BLDG 92.

But now, on to the selections, picked this time by John Bartelstone, someone who has spent the better part of 25 years documenting the history and transformations of the Yard’s amazing industrial landscape. And not surprisingly, each one of the winning photos captured some element of the working waterfront.>> Continue reading

Brooklyn Navy Yard Fall Photography Contest Submissions

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Just over a week ago, we had our final installment of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Seasonal Photography Tour for 2015. Thank you to the five participants who sent in their photos, and to the 20 or so people who came out with thus to explore the working waterfront areas of the Yard.

As we do every season, three photos will be chosen from this lot to be entered in the year-end competition (see the winter, spring, and summer finalists already selected). We are lucky to have the keen and experienced eye of John Bartelstone, author of the beautiful book The Brooklyn Navy Yard, chronicling the industrial landscape of the Yard over more than two decades (and you can get a copy at BLDG 92!)>> Continue reading

Longtime Yard Photographer John Bartelstone to Judge Fall Photo Tour

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Each season, we offer a special opportunity for photographers to explore the Brooklyn Navy Yard with us. Our next Seasonal Photography Tour is taking place this Saturday, October 10 at 11am, departing from BLDG 92. 

For this special tour, we’ll be exploring the industrial and maritime features of the waterfront at the Yard, including close-up views of the many ships that are currently berthed at the Yard awaiting repairs, a pier that will soon be redeveloped for new construction, and the landmark 1851 dry dock. Unlike previous tours, we will not be visiting the Naval Hospital Campus, though you can still step inside the 1838 building until October 24 as part of a special art exhibition there following the tour.>> Continue reading

Brooklyn Navy Yard Summer Photography Tour Finalists

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This summer, a small but dedicated crew of photographers braved the July showers to photograph the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and they shared their work with us. From those photos, BLDG 92 Visiting Artist Robin Michals selected her three favorites, which will be displayed in BLDG 92 in 2016.

Robin’s work has been focused around the changing face of the Brooklyn waterfront, so not surprisingly, her selections reflect that sensibility, showcasing the Yard’s industrial dimensions and working character. We will continue that trend with our fall installment, when we will be joined by John Bartlelstone, longtime chronicler of the Yard’s heavy industry, and focus our lenses on the working waterfront areas.>> Continue reading

Brooklyn Navy Yard Summer Photography Submissions

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The forecast called for rain on July 18, and more than half of the participants in the tour decided that they would rather take a photography tour of the Navy Yard on another day. Luckily, by 11:05 or so, the weather broke, and those left standing had a spectacular tableau of clouds and rain puddles on which to capture the Yard.

Stay tuned for our three summer finalists, selected by BLDG 92 Visiting Artist Robin Michals, and thank you to all the photographers who submitted. Check out the submissions and finalists from our spring installment, and join the next tour – Saturday, October 10.>> Continue reading

Robin Michals Documents Change Along Brooklyn’s Waterfront

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Each season, we offer a special opportunity for photographers to explore the Brooklyn Navy Yard with us. Our next Seasonal Photography Tour is taking place this Saturday, July 18 at 11am, departing from the Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at BLDG 92, and visiting sites including the Naval Hospital Campus, one of the Yard’s working dry docks, and other working waterfront sites.

Our judge for this season’s photo contest is one of BLDG 92′s 2015 Visiting Artists. Robin Michals is an associate professor of photography at New York City College of Technology, and she has spent the last several years documenting the rapid pace of change along the Brooklyn waterfront, including participating in Brooklyn Historical Society’s Documenting Sandy exhibit last year. We sat down with Robin to learn more about her experiences on the waterfront:>> Continue reading

Cranes and Cabanas: Brooklyn Navy Yard Photo Finalists, Spring 2015

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We are already well into summer – and the Summer Photography Tour of the Brooklyn Navy Yard is this Saturday! – but we wanted to share with you the finalists from our spring tour, selected by BLDG 92 Visiting Artist Natacha Mankowski. Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to all the photographers who submitted a near-record number of photos. Here are your winners:

Carol Larson grabbed a great shot of one of the most popular subjects in the Yard: a disused crane that sits adjacent to Dry Dock No. 1. Surprisingly, most of the Yard’s cranes are functional, servicing the active commercial ship repair yard, but some of them have lost their booms, rendering them more akin to Star Wars Imperial Walkers than shipyard cranes. Natacha noted, “It’s a very detailed and impressive black and white picture. It really translate the authentic soul of the yard.”>> Continue reading

Brooklyn Navy Yard Spring Photography Submissions

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I have nothing but sympathy for Natacha Mankowski, this season’s judge of our Seasonal Photography Tour submissions.

I say that because we had a remarkable day last month for the tour – not only was the weather spectacular, but the Brooklyn Navy Yard was also visited by a some very impressive ships and some very inquisitive Canada Geese, both of which you will find in many of the submitted photos. The result is a spectacular crop of photos, and I do not envy Natacha, as she has to pick just three.>> Continue reading

Natacha Mankowski Brings Out What Goes On Inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard

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Each season, we offer a special opportunity for photographers to explore the Brooklyn Navy Yard with us. Our next Seasonal Photography Tour is taking place this Sunday, April 19 at 11am, departing from the Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at BLDG 92, and visiting sites including the Naval Hospital Campus, one of the Yard’s working dry docks, and other working waterfront sites.

Our judge for this season’s photo contest is one of BLDG 92’s 2015 Visiting Artists. Natacha Mankowski is an architect and painter who has had a long fascination with the Yard and what goes on behind its gates. She used it as the inspiration for an ambitious urban planning proposal, and as part of this year’s project, she is examining creative ways to turn the Yard inside out – to showcase its inner workings and history to the public, through her art. We’ll let Natacha explain it herself:>> Continue reading

Snowy Streets of the Navy Yard: Winter Photography Tour Finalists

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Photo by Janet Squitieri

This winter has not been kind to the streets of New York. Since the beginning of the year, snow has been a permanent fixture, whether in fluffy blankets covering everything, or pushed aside into growing snowbanks that preserve the wintry landscape between storms. Those snowbanks don’t just hold snow, however; garbage bags get lost in there, as does street litter (and worse). This winter, we’ve had street sweeping suspended 28 out of a possible 58 days so far, so as the snow melts, the city feels a bit grimier, as Christmas garbage emerges from a kind of putrid hibernation. But this was far from a record; in 2010-211, we went 17 consecutive days without street sweeping, and in January-March 1978, we went 62. Hopefully we’ve seen the last snowstorm of this winter.>> Continue reading