Coney Island

Coney Island - Sign

Coney Island - Carousel and Horse Head

Coney Island - The Wonder Wheel

Coney Island - The Water's Great

Coney Island - The Sling Shot

Coney Island - The Electro Spin

Coney Island - The Brooklyn Flyer

Coney Island - Strolling on the Boardwalk

Coney Island - Refreshments

Coney Island - Luna Park Sign

Coney Island - Lady with an Umbrella at the Beach

Coney Island - Coming Around the Bend on the Cyclone

Coney Island - Buried in the Sand

Women at the Subway Station

Comic with Umbrella

Woman in Green

Take the F train. It’s a one hour ride from Manhattan to the beach. Always the beach, but also a place where you can be hurled into the sky, twirled and shaken sideways and upside down and plunged down on terrifying rides amidst screaming but happy faces--and pay for it all! That’s Coney Island today. Once the playground of the nation, then a park of faded glory, Coney Island has been brought back to life under Mayor Blumberg. But how to capture it all in photos: its color and gaudiness, its joyous spirit, and Nathan’s hot dogs?
I rode out to dreamland several times to photography the boardwalk, the fantastic rides, the refurbished carousal, and always the beach with fat people enjoying the ambience and beautiful young women in bikinis baking in the sun.
The most challenging photos to take were of people on the Cyclone, one of the nation’s oldest roller coasters. It seems every time I was ready to take a picture, the cars had just raced by. It takes patience and I was rewarded. One of the most thrilling amusements however was the sling shot. Imagine couples being strapped into an open cage and suddenly hurled high into the sky almost out of sight. I was tempted to try it myself but remembered I was there to photography. I hope in the accompanying photos that I’ve captured the spirit of the island.
And then there is the Mermaid Parade. I’d read about it for years. Was it really a Lady Godiva show with gorgeous naked women proudly marching down the street? Well, not exactly, but almost. There was Uncle Sam towering above us all on stilts; mermaids for certain, a fantastic man with his umbrella and everyone happy. Coney Island, New York’s joyous park!
Enjoy it with me through my pictures.