Blimps

16x20 inch Black & White print on Epson Art Cotton Smooth 250 gram paper. From the NYC Village Halloween Parade, 1982–86.

A fleet of human-powered Goodyear Blimps cruises through the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade in the mid-1980s, with each masquerader wearing a massive, shimmering silver inflatable as a cumbersome yet impressive headpiece. These metallic airships create a rhythmic, buoyant canopy above the marchers as they navigate the dark New York City streets in synchronized motion. This black-and-white analog composition, captured on a 35mm Pentax, highlights the reflective sheen and crinkled texture of the blimps, which stand out sharply against the night. The powerful burst from a Norman 200B flash illuminates the determined expressions of the participants in their dark jumpsuits and leather jackets, while the classic Tri-X film adds a gritty, high-contrast finish to the scene. It is a quintessential example of the imaginative, large-scale wearable art that defined the annual NYC tradition during this era, freezing a moment of whimsical street theater in grainy detail.