New York Comic Con: The Street Photographer's Dream
The New York Comic Con convention is always a highlight of the year. For a few glorious days, thousands of people, expertly dressed up as everything from the living dead to characters wielding massive chainsaws, stroll the streets.
They walk shoulder-to-shoulder with oblivious tourists and people in business suits rushing to work. It's the ultimate, chaotic juxtaposition—a street photographer's dream and nightmare all rolled into one!
This year, I was fortunate enough to be teaching a class during the convention. My students got a front-row seat to this spectacular display, a truly unique eyeful of NYC that they won't soon forget. Hopefully, they captured some once-in-a-lifetime pictures that serve as a vibrant reminder of this collision between fantasy and reality.
The sheer spectacle of a fully costumed Stormtrooper ordering a hot dog, or a group of superheroes waiting patiently at a traffic light, offers an unparalleled opportunity to practice candid street photography and environmental portraiture. The city's daily grind suddenly becomes the ultimate, dramatic backdrop for the world's greatest cosplay.