Photographer travels to Utica to take pictures of buildings

UTICA, NY (WKTV) - A photographer from New Haven, Connecticut, set his sights on the city of Utica with some of it's unique and historic buildings. 

Our camera crews caught up with Freelance Photographer David Ottenstein on Genesee Street in Utica. He was taking photos of the buildings in the downtown area. Ottenstein tells us he took photos the day before from one side of the street. When we met him, he was on the other side of Genesee Street working with the natural light and shadows to get the perfect shot. 

He also spent hours in Rome the day prior, to photograph the historic landmark at Revere Copper Products. 

"I spent awhile poking around in all those dead end streets to find an angle for that building and sign and I finally did catch it.," Ottenstein said. 

But what brought this photographer to the Central New York and Mohawk Valley region? 

"I came to Utica because someone I follow on Instagram posted some photos of the interior of the Utica Public Library," Ottenstein said. "I thought, 'that looks like an interesting place to photograph.'" 

This isn't his first time in the area. 

"I decided to do short trips that are close to home, and I had Upstate New York in mind for years," Ottenstein said. "This is my second trip up here." 

One observation he made is that many towns and cities along Route 20 seem to resemble towns and cities in the Midwest. 

"I think many of the brick and stone structures we are seeing here and in the Midwest, were built in the same decades of the 19th century, and they are quite similar." 

What is unique about this area through this photographer's lens? 

"The signs of how many mills and factories that there were around here," Ottenstein said. "It's just a constant reminder of how much industry existed around here."

Ottenstein has photographed the capitols of 50 states in the United States with a colleague and has a book coming out next fall. 

He also has a book of photos from Iowa that is already in publication. 

Check out the photographer's work here. 

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