Monday, December 8, 2008

Looking at the photography of Nathan Kensinger


I first got turned on to the adventurous photography of Nathan Kensinger over at Curbed. From exploring the nooks and crannies of the Brooklyn Army Terminal to an abandoned train tunnel that runs underneath East New York, Kensinger has a knack for finding the most provocative and haunting images of the area's (remaining) industrial wastelands.

Most recently, he went underneath Shoot the Freak at Coney Island. As he wrote:

The freak's frontyard conceals an entrance to the strange world under the boardwalk, with long forgotten hamburger signs, picnic tables and strange lairs. Hidden in the freak's backyard is a concrete porch looking out on a vast empty plain that was once Coney Island's Go-Kart track, batting cage and mini-golf course. Beyond this empty lot lies the Wonder Wheel, which is now surrounded by the demolition of Astroland. The home of the freak, like the gritty spirit of modern Coney Island, may be gone by next summer, replaced by the promise of luxury condominiums.


My (arguably) favorite of his essays: The Victim Services center of Bayley-Seton Hospital on Staten Island. Check it out for yourself here.

The Times did a short profile of him here.

Here's his Flickr page.

1 comment:

Nathan Kensinger said...

Thank you for writing such a nice piece about my photography! I've added a link to it on my blog, and I'll keep you posted on any upcoming exhibitions I may be doing. I'd be interested to hear why the Victim Services Center is your favorite photo-essay... it's hard for me to decide which ones I like best, because they were all so much fun to shoot!