OUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE BOROUGH OF KINGS
COURIER LIFE, MARCH 19-25, 2021 27
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
A Brooklyn photographer has
started a series shooting old industrial
buildings around Gowanus using
a method as old as many of the nabe’s
manufacturing structures
— the ancient art of dry glass
plates.
“I just liked the idea of this
overlapping of past and present,”
said Miska Draskoczy.
“The glass plates are messy,
they’re dirty, and they capture
that kind of compromised
state the buildings are
in today.”
For his new photo series,
the local lensman chose to
catalogue the remnants of
Gowanus’ industrial heyday
from the mid-1800s to the early 20th
century, along with other quirky architecture
along the neighborhood’s
noxious namesake canal.
Using a modifi ed 1960s Burke and
James view camera, Draskoczy photographs
on 5-by-7 inch glass dry plates
that capture an image using a gelatin
emulsion coating that reacts to light
exposure.
The technique became widely used
in the late 19th century until celluloid
fi lm took over as the medium of choice
in the early 20th century.
The process is labor-intensive and
involves Draskoczy schlepping around
the camera in a suitcase and making
sure he has the exact right light conditions
to suit the fragile plates, while
also dealing with curious passers-by
and obstructions in front of his subjects.
“It’s New York City, so there’s delivery
trucks parked right in front just
when you want to get the picture,” he
said.
He develops the images in the bathroom
of his apartment just across
Fourth Avenue in Park Slope and
scans them for digital use.
Despite the effort, the Gilded Age
technology still holds up, offering
crisp shots with a lot of detail.
“The irony is that the old format is
actually high resolution and captures
way more details than many high-end
cameras today,” he said.
He has documented notable old
buildings and structures around the
neighborhood, such as the Carroll
Street Bridge, one of the few retractile
spans in the country, which opened in
1889; the early 20th century Gowanus
Station building at the corner of Butler
and Nevins streets, which is destined
to become integrated into a planned fi ltration
facility at the head of the canal
under the federal Superfund Cleanup;
and the former American Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animalsturned
vinyl-spinning cafe and bar at
233 Butler St.
The Slope resident has long been
fascinated by the neighborhood along
Brooklyn’s Nautical Purgatory and
Plate
again
Local captures
classic Gowanus
buildings with
old techniques
BLAST FROM THE PAST: (Above) Miska Draskoczy holds a glass plate holder next to his
modifi ed view camera, whic he uses to make photos like the one of the Gowanus Station
building on Butler and Nevins Streets (Left). Above photo by Kevin Duggan
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