The most famous, of course, is the Brooklyn Bridge, built by John Robeling and opened to traffic in 1883.  The bridge was one of the factors in the consolidation of New York City, when Brooklyn (along with the other boros) were incorporated into Greater New York City in 1898.

The Brooklyn Bridge was a marvel of it’s time, the longest suspension bridge in the world.  It soon proved to be incredibly popular — so much so that two more bridges crossing the East River had to be built to accommodate the traffic — the Williamsburg bridge in 1903 and the Manhattan Bridge in 1909.

Brooklyn Bridge park sits right under the Brooklyn end of both the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges and is within sight of the Williamsburg bridge.

Aside from providing amazing views of both bridges and the famous downtown Manhattan skyline, the park is home to historic icons such as Jane’s Carousel.  In addition, there is lots of parkland to relax and enjoy yourself, piers that have been converted to sports facilities, barbeque stations and good food and drink.

One of my favorite times to come here is around sunset, when the sun is going down over the skyscrapers.  You can always get some great shots then.

Here are some shots that I took when I visited the park this week and brought my new wide-angle lens:

The Manhattan Bridge at Sunset, with the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyline in the background.

The Brooklyn Bridge at Sunset with the New York skyline in the background. Also in the picture is Jane’s Carousel.

The Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge, together with One World Trade Center and other Manhattan skyscrapers.

Do you have any favorite places around the city where you like to shoot?  If so, let me know.

Zev

I arrived on a late Sunday afternoon (even I know better than to show up at a beach area on a beautiful Sunday at midday!) and began shooting.

One of the first sights that I saw was this guy sitting on a sign and couldn’t help but take his picture:

There’s a bit of a walk between the parking lot and the actual lighthouse.  At first, my lazy self was upset about having to walk all the way there, but the photographer in me actually began to appreciate it.  If I was able to park right at the lighthouse, I wouldn’t have gotten some of the shots that I did.  The long walk to the lighthouse gave me some time to consider different angles and compositions as I approached it.

My one major regret was not getting a shot with the sun setting in the top of the lighthouse.  Sadly, the angle of the sun was all wrong for that and in order to get it right, I’d have to go into areas which were off limits.  I’ll have to try again another time of year.

Zev