Is there any place in the world as varied, beautiful, and interesting as Brooklyn (besides Manhattan, of course)? If you're not sure, check out Anthony LaSala and Seth Kusher's Brooklynites project- they've spent the last two years documenting the famous and less-famous residents of the borough, and they've put together an amazing website:
With this project, we wanted to sever the Brooklyn below that sky. Get beneath the facade, the name, the stories, the reputation, and the place we grew up in. We wanted to find out who the people were and what they loved, hated and added to this historic locale. What we found was a place and a gathering of people that are so much more than their illustrious repute.
This project, tentatively titled "The Brooklynites", is long-term endeavor, which we plan to turn into a book after it is completed. It will feature photographs taken by Seth Kushner and interviews and essays by writer Anthony LaSala. Our aim is to create a large body of work, which would consist of images of people of all walks of life, in order to create a portrait of the borough through the people who live and work there.
Since June of 2004, we have been photographing and interviewing every type of person from nearly every neighborhood in the borough (we plan to include all neighborhoods). We approach people in the street who are intriguing. People whose work and lives we admire. People who are known to be proud Brooklynites. We usually ask the subjects to choose a location in Brooklyn that has some meaning to them. Anthony conducts a brief interview, asking the subject what they think makes Brooklyn special and then Seth completes a photo shoot.
Don't miss all the pictures, and their behind-the-scenes essays and documentary stills. Great, great, great stuff.
