Week 29: July 16-22
This past weekend we did something we should have done a long time ago- we sat on the D train for about an hour all the way down to Coney Island and walked around. It's kind of mind-blowing that there is a beach accessible to the millions of people living on Manhattan for the price of a $2.50 MTA subway ride (cheap! reasonably accessible!) and that we had not yet deigned to go see it until now, two plus years into our life in the City.
Sharon has been telling me forever about how her experience with "the shore" growing up is unrecognizably different from the Southern/Alabama experience of "the beach", and Coney Island encapsulates the comparison quite neatly. Instead of miles of white sand beaches crammed with people and nearly nothing else to do, there's sandy beaches crammed with people, abutted by a boardwalk with a carnival-like atmosphere with rides and food and shops all steps from the water. I think I prefer this configuration - where the beach is less the main attraction, separated by roads from other things, as it is an option amongst a selection of available activities all in the same festive place.
Anyway, I came to the beach with an idea of snapping a few shots of the boardwalk, but I felt at the time (and confirmed when I got home) that those shots weren't going to cut it. The ones I did like (and liked at the time when I snapped them) were mostly ones that resulted from
people-watching*. Sharon laughed that the one photo I chose for this week's selection manages to elide the fact that the beach was so busy, loud, and crowded- but we walked by these two kids and the recognition of an opportunity hit me and I snapped away and ended up with this:
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35mm (DX) : ISO 400 : f/8 : 1/1000s
Coney Island Beach |
A few photos featuring reflections this week - we stopped for another shot on the beach, and I actually used my reflection in Sharon's shades as a focus point.
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| Don't mind the man in the reflection |
More after the break:
I wish I had taken more time with this one below- had I just waited for the Frisbee guys to move a little, this may have ended up my photo of the week.
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| Beach vista |
The rest from fun Coney Island:
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| Local/National institution |
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| Can't decide if the dog really likes the water or just really likes the lady (ha, who am I kidding?) |
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| These guys swung by on the Let's-Pretend-You're-Gonna-Die ride just overhead and were kind enough to pose for me |
*Sharon and I had a conversation the other day about what if any issues could arise from walking around and snapping photos of people out on the street (or, as it relates to this week, out in public spaces like the beach). It just so happens that, being the nerd that I am, I've been reading a bunch of photography blogs that have turned this question over- I generally agree that people out in public are fair game for having their photograph taken, though I personally would draw the line at invading people's personal space and any obviously creeper moves. I could understand if people thought my taking photos of random kids on the beach veered into creeper territory, though I would argue that I know the difference between appropriate and not. If someone were ever to confront me, I think I would offer to show them the photo taken, give them my contact information and offer to send them the photo, and ultimately offer to delete it if they were truly offended. It has yet ever to come to this, though...
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-H