i generally have nice photographic encounters

Ward Bakery demolition continues, originally uploaded by threecee.

my recent run-in with a woman (who should definitely opt for decaffeinated) is thankfully not the norm for me while i'm out taking photos of my neighborhood, aka the Atlantic Yards footprint:

my mailman and i often talk cameras and photography, as he's an aspiring photographer.

there's another amateur photographer who worked in the crew that demolished 546 Vanderbilt who would jokingly harass me as well as talk cameras in the several encounters we had.

there was the construction worker on Dean near Vanderbilt who told me about growing up in the 'hood in the 60's, and how 546 Vanderbilt used to be a Chunky candy factory.

there's the owner of the demolition company that took down 465 Dean, who talked about coming to the country from Trinidad, serving in Vietnam, and building his business with his sons. we talked for about 30 minutes about race, politics, gentrification, changing Brooklyn and New York, Atlantic Yards.

then there are numerous neighbors and strangers who stop me and offer bits of local history and/or wisecracks. i love Brooklyn.

yesterday, while shooting the demolition of the Ward Bread Bakery smokestack (which, along with its water tower, are my Prospect Heights neighborhood icons), i was approached by an employee of Gateway Demolition, the contractor doing the demolition of the Ward Bakery. he talked about his new optic gear which enabled him to tell the brand of cigarette one of the workers was smoking on his break atop the smokestack, i talked about my trying to capture some of the history of the 'hood before his company dismantles it, and then we got into a short but interesting discussion about the history of the Ward Bakery.

he was pretty knowledgeable about Wards, how it was built in 1905 (or is it 1910? 1911?) and was where sliced bread was introduced. i asked him what it was like inside the old bakery. he told me about ovens large enough that one could drive a truck around inside of them and how the oven floors were on a giant rotisserie to evenly bake thousands of loaves at a time. he told me that it's very cold inside right now, like an icebox, with lots of peeling paint and beautiful light.

descriptions of the decaying turn-of-the-century industrial grandeur made me think of the stunning photographs of Nathan Kensinger. i asked him if anyone is taking photographs inside Wards, to capture this history before it's gone, and he said no. i told him that i'd love to get in there to photograph, but, not surprisingly, he wasn't jumping to offer me a tour.

[ if anyone at Gateway Demolition or Forest City Ratner is reading this, how's about showing some goodwill toward us bloggers and photographers and give us a tour of Wards before it's completely gone? or how about you have one of your own take some photos? yeah, i know the chances are nearly nil, but what's the harm in asking? ]

so, generally, most of the workers demolishing buildings on the Atlantic Yards site are cordial, if not friendly and open. i try to make it clear to them that i have no beef with them or their companies, that i understand that they are there doing their job, and i'm there doing mine, and that i'm not looking for trouble.