Inside the Abandoned National Silk Dyeing Co.: Paterson, NJ's Forgotten Textile Mill (Photos)

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  The text message from my friend J was simple: a list of addresses in Newark and Paterson. An invitation. An urban treasure map with Xs marking forgotten places. I picked the one on Piercy Street. Pulling up, I saw the building wasn’t exactly hiding. It was a behemoth of brick and colorful lettered graffiti, a whole city block of decay. A door gaped open next to an old loading dock, but the scene gave me pause. Mounds of illegally dumped trash lay along the floor of the loading bay. This part of Paterson has a tough reputation, and the open doors felt less like an invitation and more like a dare. I took a deep breath and stepped inside. The air was thick with the smell of dust and damp. I found myself in a vast, open space littered with plastic containers and skeletal metal shelving. I moved deeper, drawn toward the old boiler house section. Before I reached it, I walked into a room that stopped me cold. Everything was stained a deep, blood red. A fine crimson powder coated the fl...
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Prospect Park Ducks, Turtles & Swans (Sankyo Kohki)

A serene scene in Prospect Park with turtles basking on logs in the calm waters, surrounded by lush greenery. The sunlight filters through the leaves, casting a soft glow on the water's surface, highlighting the peaceful coexistence of wildlife in this natural urban retreat.

 A little bit overexposed than the first image. 


This morning I took an early morning shoot in the park with all the early morning bicyclists and joggers. I enjoyed it today because I opened up my camera and interchangeable lenses on the beautiful clove where three benches open up to the dark green pond full of fish and other unknowns.

I sampled the Komura Sankyo Kohki 135mm and the Samigon 35mm. The Kohki 135mm photos opened wide at f/3.5 causing a bit of overexposure due to the bright sun with zero clouds so early at 8 in the morning. I stopped it down around f/5.6 and f/8 and the pictures really started to shine with sharp colors and a nice contrast of greens and yellows. The Sankyo Kohki really sings at f/5.6. Old Japanese lenses really give you something more than auto-focus lenses. Many will argue modern lenses are better with better optics glass and coatings. In the alternative, while these old manual focus lenses might not have snazzy modern glass coatings and optics they still produce spectacular images in the hands of pros and new DSLR owners. If you don't believe me look up a post on Pentax forums where a fungus Takumar produces incredible images like it isn't even there. View it here.








Source: The Dead Lens Club - Pentax

Lens Info: Komura Sankyo Kohki f= 135mm

 Location: Prospect Park Brooklyn
Location: Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY, USA

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