#31: Back to the Beginning

Today, I was assigned to do the same assignment I had at the beginning of this project. This time was very, very different.

Of course, it’s Halloween. And naturally, I’m back in New York City instead of Glens Falls. I headed down to the Halloween Parade in the Village for this one, and it was almost like cheating. People expected to have their photos taken — but I was happy to oblige.

All of these photos were taken with direct flash, which is never my first choice, but in an outdoor space at night, what other choice is there? Bounce off asphalt? Additionally, I had only a 256 meg card — it was actually a lot like shooting with a single roll of film. I kind of liked it.

This one only makes sense if you’ve played Minecraft. I have, and it was a perfect costume. He actually had a couple buddies similarly dressed, but this was the best shot I could get in a rapidly moving crowd.

I really liked these two. Their costume was pretty neat, but they were also just very nice people. The “deer in headlights” look is staged — as soon as I lowered the camera, they were all smiles. “It was her idea!” said the man on the right, beaming.

This guy. Yeah. I just wish I had gone a liiiiittle wider. You know, to get his full wingspan.

This guy’s costume was just so great. And his facial structure totally works for the costume, in my opinion. I only wish I could have achieved a tighter focus. It was so dark out, of course, that it was pretty difficult to do this. Additionally, the guy was so pleasant, almost zen-like, about having his photo taken. I kind of wanted to buy him a beer.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that these guys were here. They were all dressed up in costume, too, but this camp donned a noticeably different kind of costume from “zombie nurse” and “sexy nurse.”