Parade #1

A quick selection of my favourite photos from the 2013 Mermaid Parade in Coney Island.

More photos, or new edits of these ones, may appear at a later date. The link to click to see them all is this one.

Parade #2

I've attended the past three Mermaid Parades, and 2013 is my favourite so far.

Photographers

The parade is a huge draw for photographers, but few make much of a concession to the event itself.

(I was the one in the orange fish hat, not pictured.)

The Crowd

A few of the hundreds of thousands of people in attendance.

Parade #3

A few more moments from the parade.

Post-Parade

A good time was had by all.

NYPD

I'm going to argue that the second photo is indeed level.

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.

#938, Medic

Something that I didn't expect from my first visit is the way so many ambulances park near the boardwalk, even early in the morning. Most are simply vans, but after watching so many TV shows set in NYC, seeing one of their trucks was a little like meeting a celebrity.

#114, Saturn

An unusual number of my coney island photos included fences.

"Unusual" for other photographers, at least.

#086, Boardwalk

A telephoto lens turned out to not be the best for capturing views of the boardwalk.

#942, Faded

I'm still working on picking and finishing my favourites from Coney Island, and haven't taken any photos in the month since – except for my regular daily photo project that I'm doing with my little compact camera. So instead of having anything new to show, I have some other photos that I like that didn't get included in the first round of picks.

Plans for my next trip are starting to come together – I'll be going back in seven weeks.

#043, Clean Streets

The slogan on the garbage can reads "Clean Streets Clean Beaches".

The building in the background is Nathan's Famous, reputed to be the birthplace of the hotdog. I decided that I'd rather eat at Honest Ed's, and kept my reputation for subsisting on Subway and McDonalds for yet another road trip.

(I have no idea what to make of the freaky baby head.)

#094, Beach

Coney Island's beach faces south, so it's always in the sun.

#081, Plaster

A detail from the former Child's Restaurant building, vacant since the 1950s. It was recently revived as a home to the Dreamland Roller Rink, but after two years of activity it now sits empty again.

#077, United Transport

It turns out that the school bus depot is a very photogenic spot along the boardwalk.

#053, Furniture

None of the photos that I'm posting from Coney Island are the final images. These are essentially proofs or work prints – if such a thing exists digitally – that I'm using to refine my selections.

That said, I really like this one, and it may be my best.