Mermaid Parade 2009

Admittedly it was pouring rain, the light was flat, rain drops kept blurring my lens, I was sick with a bad cough, and I couldn't decide how I was going to shoot the event. The die-hards and exhibitionistas kept me going (as well as a dry hat thanks to Brooklyn Lager and the promise of a dog at Nathans). The best comment I heard about the costume design was, "Well...you think of anything and then you mermize it." Here's a smattering of the 3000 plus, now weeded down to approx 140 photographs. The Coney Island Mermaid Parade lives on!