Red Hook

On the pier looking at Bay Ridge.

What is one to do on a beautiful day in September? Why head down to Red Hook with the camera and take some pictures. I've been wanting to shoot down there since I first shopped at Fairway in mid-spring. It's a strange area caught in the upstroke of not only gentrification but also in the middle of an Ikea invasion. Red Hook had been a traditional maritime and industrial area with scattered housing amongst the piers, dry docks, and industrial facilities. It is cut off from the rest of Brooklyn by the BQE and has minimal public transportation. It is also right on the water with spectacular views of the Hudson. Like many industrial areas, the housing there was primarily for the lower classes and like in many other undesirable places with questionable environmental histories the government put in public housing. Unlike many other industrial areas, the city also put in tons of playing fields and the Red Hook soccer fields have a well deserved reputation for some of the best soccer in the City.

If you want to make a trip of it, head down to Ikea. Have your meatballs, some delicious lingonberry juice, and bring your stuff to the car. If you want to make a foodie trip of it, head down to Ikea, leave some room after the meatballs, and walk across the street to the soccer fields and the famous Red Hook Taco Trucks.

Once you try a delicious taco, you'll find a place where every little boy wants to play soccer and everything, basketball, beach ball, tin can, an unsuspecting little brother turns into a soccer ball. The girls run around and sit quietly on the side but the young ones are out on scooters and playing with one another while the older ones try out their struts and their ability to draw the eye of a young man. If you've never observed cultures where there is a strict gender divide, here's you're place to see it. Boys and men do one thing, and there is a clear goal of being one of those guys on the soccer field. Girls and women do something else and just like the men, have a clear goal of being one of those women. There are a few people who cross over, men who mind the babies and cook on a BBQ, women who hang out on the sidelines and quietly root for their team. I saw one girl who was encouraged to come out to the goal between games and after a few deft kicks, it was clear that she was an exceptional soccer player for her age and gender.

So, the next few posts will be an homage to my three hours in Red Hook. Unfortunately, my battery died while just as the light started to get really good, so I had to stop my trip a little early. Have no fear, I still grabbed a seat down at the Liberty Garden and watched the boats glide by.

In case you're curious, I shot these using the Nikon D70 with a 105mm lens. I realized that in order to get the industrial shots I wanted, I needed a heavy duty telephoto lens. But this worked well for most of what I shot.