Brooklyn never looked so good. “Last Kiss” photographer Mo Gelber spent years honing his camera skills on the streets of Kings County before becoming a rising star.
The Marine Park shutterbug rose to stardom earlier this month with his snapshot of a mystery couple about to lock lips, while handcuffed, escorted by cops in front of Manhattan Criminal Court.
Courtesy of Mo Gelber/via Facebook
Mo Gelber’s “Last Kiss” photo
“Brooklyn is friendlier. It is not as aggressive as Manhattan,” said Gelber, 42. “As a photographer, that helps you in two ways: It helps you capture a friendlier disposition of people. And it is less likely that you will get attacked and have your camera broken.”
Although Gelber’s fame is tied to a Manhattan picture, he still thinks the borough is a photographer’s dream, he said, sharing his top Brooklyn snapshots with The News.
Courtesy of Mo Gelber
A little girl rides the merry go round in Brooklyn Bridge Park
“In Brooklyn, we have over a million people. There is so much diversity,” Gelber said. “There is all this new construction. And places that haven’t been touched in years. There’s great disparity.”
Courtesy of Mo Gelber
A father and son playing near a salt marsh in Marine Park
Coney Island is the best place to score a decent shot. “It’s crowded. The more people in an area, the more of an opportunity there is to find an interesting person.
Courtesy of Mo Gelber
An amusement ride in Luna Park in Coney Island
Gelber also urged budding lensmen to check out DUMBO and Vinegar Hill. “There’s a lot of contrast between old and new. There are a lot of old building facades and behind them there all these condos with the yuppies.”
Courtesy of Mo Gelber
A junkyard in Canarsie
Meanwhile, the junkyards in Canarsie are Gelber’s favorite place to photograph decades-old scrap. “I like to find hidden things in Brooklyn. Things people never see,” said Gelber, pointing out his photo of tall piles of colorful car-parts taken in a lot off of Ralph Ave.
While Prospect Park is the popular choice for a shutterbug, Gelber prefers lesser-known patches of green. Marine Park is his go-to-spot to find heartwarming family images. One Gelber picture shows a laughing little boy being carried by his smiling dad, and a salt marsh in the background. “The backdrop is so beautiful,” Gelber said.
Courtesy of Mo Gelber
An amusement ride in Luna Park
Cute kids are often found in Brooklyn Bridge Park where fashionable tykes crowd the jungle gym. But Gelber warned that working with tots is tough since they are so unpredictable.
A dad asked Gelber to take a picture of his two-year-old son coming down the slide. Somehow the boy fell while Gelber was snapping away. “I don’t want to see anybody get hurt. Photography can be dangerous,” Gelber said.
