THE MERMAID PARADE
BY ZEESHAN KHAN
The 40th Annual Mermaid Parade took place in Coney Island, New York City on June 18th, 2022. It is organized by a non-profit organization called Coney Island USA, to defend the honour of popular American culture through exhibitions and performances. I joined in the festivities to document the immersive experience from start to finish.
With rangefinders in hand, my day started late at 10:30 AM by the staging area. I got slightly distracted by vintage cars just there for the taking, in the photographic sense I mean. I spent some time capturing some of these vintage beauties.
There was already a participant crowd in place much before my arrival, getting ready for the parade. It presented itself as a perfect opportunity to mingle with the exhibitionists and start making photographic moments. My main goal of the entire experience was to capture the vibrant energy and dedication of the performers. I was grateful to have planned well in advance and purchased photographer passes. Otherwise, I would have been stuck on the sidelines, looking outside in.
Throughout the rest of the morning, I touched shoulders with a number of folks who were ready to be photographed and share the act. I captured the entire event in a documentary format, mainly interested in capturing chance encounters and eye-contact moments. Interactions led to portraits, oops moments, and general street scenes.
Moving into the afternoon the parade kicked off around 1 PM for the general crowd. I joined in and started moving with the exhibitionists, capturing moments along the way. There were some unbelievable costumes. Entire families, including family pets, were involved in the parade. From grandparents to parents to kids and babies, it was a loud family affair. All dressed up showcasing their art.
The general parade took about six hours all the way into the early evening. There were priceless moments that included a mermaid bus with Princess Ariel sitting atop, a float of acrobatics, the horror bus, and more. It ended with the infamous Coney Island Boardwalk where the final exhibition of the best-dressed award was announced. I'm actually not sure who won since at that point the boardwalk was exploding with massive crowds. New York City level massive crowds all trying to be part of the experience. There was hardly any place left to stand let alone walk. It was fairly difficult to photograph an event while constantly being on the move.
Personally speaking, I'm not much for large crowds but opted for the Mermaid Parade to challenge myself photographically. I wanted to have the experience of absolute chaos and the ability to pick isolated moments. At first, I thought it would be a disappointment but once I connected with the crowd, I was instantly hooked. The camera simply worked itself and I came away with a great feeling of success.
