West 10th Street, Brooklyn

By the time this post hits my blog, I'll be in New York for Thanksgiving week.  Before leaving, I wanted to publish one last post and thought, in counterpoint to the season, I'd post something from summer.

I took this shot in 2005 on West 10th Street and the Boardwalk on Coney Island in Brooklyn during the Mermaid Parade.  For those who haven't been, the Mermaid Parade is sheer insanity, but in a really decadent and fun way.  Hundreds of people pack both side of Mermaid Avenue to watch the craziness. 


Like Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the King Mango Strut in Miami, and Fantasy Fest in Key West, all bets and most rules are off.  The costumes are usually homemade and almost always creative and quite often very revealing. 


After the formal parade, the informal one begins one block over on the Boardwalk.  Spectators and costumed participants mingle and wander, eat Nathan's Hotdogs and soft ice cream.  Gotta love Coney Island. 

That's when I took this picture.  I love the symmetry of it, how the horizon and ocean bisect the image and separate clear sky from the crowd.  I also love how the crowd appears to stretch to the shoreline and how the sign on the left and the kiosk on the right bookend the image and straddle the horizon.  I also love the look on the guy as he's talking to the pretty blonde.  Pretty cool, actually.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving to all and keep warm.