Wide Angle Wednesday, Fort Totten Explored

Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/10, 1/100s, 100ISO, 16mm

 This past weekend, the New York City Parks Department hosted a Tunnel Tour of Fort Totten. This is a tour that is rarely held, so I was excited to have the opportunity to attend.  The tour consisted of two parts, exploring some of the old Endicott System which consisted of 5 disappearing guns, and a chance to enter the old Main Magazine, where gunpowder was stored for the cannons on the battery.

Due to a larger than expected turnout, the tour was split into two groups; my group explored the Endicott section first.  Though the disappearing guns are long gone there are some remnants of the support structures for them, such as the munitions elevators, power panels, and rails.

Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/80s, 100ISO, 16mm

I was with my wife and toddler on this tour. I was not able to get the shots I really wanted to get, or had imaged obtaining before I arrived, due to a daughter demanding to be carried and the large amount of attendees. Most of the people that attended had never ventured to Fort Totten before, but my family are frequent visitors. In fact, we just found out that our daughter made the lottery and will be taking swim lessons at the pool that is in the old parade grounds of the Fort!

Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/40s, 640ISO, 11mm

I would love to go back to the Endicott section with less people, but I'm also not the type to break into areas, so that will probably not happen. We were told that there have been many film shoots in this area, as it is a perfect distressed prison setting. White Collar on USA is one of the shows that has done a fair amount of shooting not only in the Endicott area, but in Fort Totten in general.

Power Plant
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/4.5, 1/25s, 3200ISO, 11mm

Shooting in manual, I had to anticipate what settings I would need depending on the lighting. Some of the tunnels were almost in complete darkness, with my cell phone flash serving as a flashlight. Outside in the bright daylight, it was between 1:00p and 2:00p, some of the harshest lighting conditions to shoot. Because of the amount of people, we almost were rushed from one area to another. I had to dial in some rough settings before encountering the subject.

Power Panel
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/4.5, 1/25s, 3200ISO, 11mm

Having shot in Manual mode for awhile, it wasn't that difficult for me to dial in my settings. One of the most important things is knowing the layout of your camera. Just like driving a car, you want to be able to change things without having to remove your eyes from the viewfinder.

The second part of my tour was a dark, dark place, the Main Magazine. The park rangers only had one working lantern, and by that time my cell phone was dead. None of my shots turned out that great unfortunately. I was unable to setup my tripod and do a long exposure, and I was polite and didn't blind people with my flash. 

Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/5, 1/160s, 125ISO, 16mm

The rangers told us about a system of mirrors that was utilized since open flames would have been a very bad idea in a room full of gunpowder. Some soldiers would count their steps and walk through that area in complete darkness. 

Waterside Battery
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/800s, 160ISO, 11mm

I was very glad I had the opportunity to attend this rare behind the fence tour of Fort Totten. Best part was, it was free! I recommend a visit to Fort Totten to anyone visiting northeast Queens. In October, the rangers host a Haunted Lantern Tour, which is a haunted house that is in the old battery. My family and our good friend Amy went last year, and it actually is one of the better haunted houses we've been to, and free!