Manhattan Colour

A few rare colour photos from modern midtown Manhattan.

Coney Island – Amusements

I switched to New Portra 400 for my colour photos later in the afternoon, both to squeeze out more light, and to come closer to the look of my photos from the spring that were taken with the same film but a bigger camera. Both cameras were manual focus, though – most of my best ones are.

Coney Island – After the Parade

The parade went on for hours and hours, and even when it was done it didn't really stop.

Coney Island – NYPD

As befitting any event that centres around mostly scantily clad women and large crowds, there was a strong police presence. This particular officer was amazing – he was asked "how do I get around this thing?" so many times that I was getting ready to snap after only twenty minutes, while he must have dealt with it for hours. Each time he answered it as politely and completely as if it was his first time hearing it.

There's a reason why he has a gun and I don't.

Coney Island – Surf Avenue

There's a large parade in Coney Island to mark the beginning of summer. I accidentally booked my bus tickets for that Saturday, which dramatically changed all of my plans for New York City.

The parade frequently resembled collections of people in costumes loosely walking in roughly the same direction, but made up for its lack of cohesion by lasting for hours and hours. The huge crowd dominated the area for the entire afternoon, and left it in such a shambles that after five hours I needed to return to the calm, quiet, and cleanliness of midtown Manhattan.

All of these photos were taken with my Zeiss Ikon rangefinder using the 4/85mm lens, which I brought specifically for photos of the parade and its participants.

#075, Near Times Square

I have a few more black and white photos from the morning in Manhattan, but I used colour film for much of the afternoon.

#024, Reflection

I almost always remember where I took my photos.

Almost.