The Masters of Coney Island Photography

The Masters of Coney Island Photography

By Michael Ernest Sweet

Photographers have been flocking to Coney Island, New York City’s iconic urban beach, since the late 19th century. Robert Bracklow, known as “daylight Bob” because of his fear of the dark, was photographing there in the late 1800s. Indeed, he captured some of the earliest surviving photographs of the resort. Little did Bracklow know about how the beaches there would become a famed destination for generations of street and beach togs. The question that remains, is why?

There isn’t likely a singular answer to why Coney Island has become such a destination for photographers. Yet, coincidence alone cannot adequately explain a multi-generational affinity. Logic dictates that there must be some identifiable features of the place that attracts our visual sensibilities. Likely among these features is the endless supply of human clay waiting – begging – to be molded into photographic masterpieces. Whether today or a hundred years ago, the photographer at Coney Island is confronted with inviting human characteristics such as wrinkles, jowls, scars, stretch marks, cankles, flab, liver spots, pimples, popping veins, folded folds, and wiggly waists. One often hears of shooting in a fishbowl and Coney Island is no exception – it is a captive audience of human oddities. And, it is just a subway ride away for 8 million people. 

Copyright ⓒ Michael Ernest Sweet

Many famed photographers have made the slog to Coney Island on a notoriously sweltering New York City summer day. Many photographers have also made their mark in the history of Coney Island photography too. The legendary New York noir photographer, Weegee, made some intense images there in the 1940s when the resort was often so packed one could hardly see a grain of sand! His images are a unique look at the place when it was favorited by the wealthier crowd. Around the same time, female street photographer Lisette Model was also wielding her camera on the beach at Coney Island. One immediately thinks of her heavy-weight woman in a wrestling stance, her back to the Atlantic ocean – perhaps one of the most iconic images ever shot there. Just after comes Harold Feinstein. Feinstein engaged Coney Island with his camera for over six decades and, as a result, is the definitive “Coney Island” photographer. His work will keep you gazing for hours. Harvey Stein would follow on the heels of Feinstein and also made images at the urban resort for more than forty years. In fact, he still shoots there today. As one can see, the destination is often not a temporary assignment for many photographs but rather a life-long obsession. Wrapping up the more “classical” period at Coney Island would be NYC street photography guru Bruce Gilden, who made his signature mark by having a keen eye for the grotesque and working very close to his sun-soaked subjects. 

Copyright ⓒ Michael Ernest Sweet

Contemporary times have only proven Coney Island’s lasting power of attraction for photographers. If anything, the urban beach has become more of a destination than ever for photographers from around the globe who make the trek to New York City. The annual mermaid parade is a favorite among amateurs, while any given day of the week attracts those who tend to be more serious in their vocation. Mark Hartman in his ongoing project, Island, is at work capturing the people of Coney Island in isolation. That is, he effectively eliminates most traces of place in his photographs and, instead, shows us the unique people who innately flock to this special place. His work is unique and compelling. San Francisco native Alex Webb has also trained his lens on Coney Island over the decades to produce some incredible masterful images in his signature color-saturated style. Indeed, it is Webb’s work that portrays the highly-complex visual scenes that are possible at Coney Island. As his name suggests, Webb is able to weave intricate scenes with his lens to give us a narrative-rich experience time and again. Finally, a lesser-known photographer, John Barbiaux has also made some terrific work at Coney Island. I am especially a fan of his shots composed through subway windows – totally worth looking up!

Copyright ⓒ Michael Ernest Sweet

Copyright ⓒ Michael Ernest Sweet

In my own work, I have tried to capture the island in a way that both adds something unique to the history of photography there, but also captures the diminished glamour of the destination. Coney Island is no longer a glittery gathering place for New York society to take a dip and cool off from the stifling urban heat. No, rather the beach is most known today as the wading hole for locals and the city’s poorer inhabitants – those who cannot afford to travel to a more prestigious beachfront locale. Today Coney Island is more a post-apocalyptic wasteland. This shift in demographics has lead to a decidedly different “look and feel”. The beachgoers are uniquely rough, raw and haggard. Garbage-strewn bathing plots give way to dingy shallow water and a boardwalk that more resembles a back alley than a beach. Yet, the place remains oddly magnetic for photographers, myself included. I’ve been visiting Coney Island, routinely, for almost a decade. Working on two large-scale projects, one in lo-fi color and one in monochrome, I’m not sure I will ever “finish” my photographing of Coney Island – just like so many photographers before me. 

Visiting New York City anytime soon? Make the hour-long-ish journey from Manhattan and visit Coney Island, camera in hand! Although it is decidedly less easy to photograph there in this new street-photography-obsessed culture, one can, with determination, still capture the captive at this famed oceanfront locale. Be friendly and be open about your intentions. Sneaky “ninja” photography doesn’t go over well with half-clad sunbathers. Also, dress for the beach, not as a safari-going documentarian! Finally, the Brighton Beach end of Coney Island is often less enthusiastic about being photographed – expect confrontations. But who said beach street photography was easy? The best way to find out what has drawn more than a century’s worth of photographers to Coney Island is to visit and experience it for yourself.