She’s bringing Brooklyn to the world.
A Manhattan photo editor will launch a new book featuring 250 images of Kings County from a collection of talented photographers, at Word Bookstore in Greenpoint on Nov. 15. The glossy pictures in “Brooklyn Photographs Now” pay homage to the borough’s distinct aesthetic, she said.
“Brooklyn’s become a phenomenon,” said Marla Hamburg Kennedy, who formerly lived in Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo. “It’s much more than a borough — it’s its own major city, and a brand, if you will.”
The tome offers a collection of both black-and-white and color photos spotlighting the borough’s architecture, streetscapes, and street art, along with portraits of borough residents and the diverse communities they come from. Images come from all over the borough, including Coney Island in winter, Prospect Park in summer, Red Hook after Hurricane Sandy, and the skyline over Bushwick, with many pairs of images chosen to cleverly juxtapose their similarities and differences.
Hamburg Kennedy first became interested in urban photography focused on the Big Apple after 9-11, she said, and she edited the 2011 book “New York: A Photographer’s City.” In the years since then, as she watched her Manhattan neighbors move across the river to the better borough, she began to hunt for images highlighting the changing neighborhoods that she used to call home.
“I’m always interested in how photography reflects the times,” she said. “This was a completely new Brooklyn, and that’s what this book reveals.”
Most of the images in the book were taken in the last 10 years, but the book also pays homage to the borough’s storied past, with images of its iconic bridges and historic buildings. Hamburg Kennedy said she wanted to offer a blend of photos, but made sure to highlight Brooklyn history.
“I love history and I study history, so for me these images are a complete mirror into history,” she said. “There are a lot of new buildings in Williamsburg and Downtown, but I also included a lot of old neighborhoods, a lot of old storefronts, restaurants.”
She considers Brooklyn an escape from the hustle and bustle of life on her frantic home island, and it provides a window into the past, she said.
“I still think Brooklyn and Manhattan are very different worlds,” she said. “There’s an intimacy about Brooklyn, and I think that’s why so many people are drawn to it — and the history and great architecture.”
“Brooklyn Photographs Now” launch at Word Bookstore (126 Franklin St. at Milton Street in Greenpoint, www.wordb
