Polar Bear Plunge, January 1, 2012

This was my first time at the New Year’s Day Polar Bear Plunge out at Coney Island. I have no idea if it’s always this crowded or if the unusually sunny and warm day brought extra people. It was really a blast.

See the series on Flickr or Google+

Halloween, October 31 2011

After a cold and snowy weekend, the weather turned mild for a Monday night Halloween parade. Had a great time wandering the crowded streets with my new friend Eric. Unfortunately, in the dark I didn’t notice that the camera got switched to MF halfway through the night, so many good shots were otherwise ruined.

See the series on Flickr or Google+

Lunar New Year Parade, February 2010

I had a gay old time photographing the Chinese / Lunar New Year Parade in Chinatown, NYC. Unlike Tiger (2010), Ox (2009) and Rat (2008) the Year of the Rabbit brought quite a bit of whimsy to the event.

Not everyone was all fuzzy ears and smiles, however:

Halloween 2010

I’m not normally a Halloween person, but this year I photographed the festivities in Fort Greene, Jackson Heights and SoHo while participating in a weekend workshop given by Mary Ellen Mark.

Faces of Holi, 3/7/10

Last week was one of my favorite annual events, the Hindu spring festival Holi (also called Phagwah or the Festival of Colors) out in Richmond Hills, Queens. It was my third time attending, and in addition to group photos I also concentrated on a series of portraits.

The weather was beautiful, with bright skies and a bit of a breeze to kick up the colors. Enjoy the photos, and if you see one of yourself in there post a comment and say Hi!

Gay Parade NYC, 2009

This year we arrived at our favorite spot before the parade actually started, so managed to see Dykes on Bikes! But the early start meant we also got tired of standing and I left about 3 hours into it … even though the parade was only half done. Other highlights were seeing my friends march with GOAL, and of course the after-parade scene in the West Village where revelers were all too eager to pose for the camera.

Holi, 3/15/09

Today was my second time attending the Hindu spring festival Holi (also called Phagwah or the Festival of Colors) out in Richmond Hills, Queens.

Last year I had no idea what to expect, and it took me a while to get into it. I was also worried about dust on the camera. This year I planned ahead and made a clear plastic camera cover.

There’s a short and sweet parade, mostly for sponsors and politicians. But the fun really starts at the end when the crowds gather in the park to exchange colors. Everyone goes a little wild, with kids throwing colored powder, baby powder, and also color liquid at eachother. The teenagers get really crazy, but the little kids and grownups get into it too.

The rowdiness is fun but never gets out of control. Everyone is smiling and laughing. The festivities really bring people together, and total strangers have no shyness about approaching eachother to apply colors.

In the photo of me above, each unique color was gently and lovingly applied by hand by a different total stranger.