Nuns on Parade

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

A phalanx of masquerading nuns charges toward the lens in a moment of spirited street theater at the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, their irreverent energy immortalized on black-and-white film. The central figure, draped in a heavy, crocheted black shawl, locks eyes with the 35mm Pentax camera, her gaze rendered in startlingly fine detail through the wire-rimmed spectacles. Captured on Kodak Tri-X between 1982 and 1986, the scene is frozen by the sharp, high-contrast illumination of a Norman 200B Flash, which reveals the varied, fluid movements of the group—some with hands raised in playful mock-blessings, others caught in mid-stride. The stark black-and-white tones emphasize the repetitive patterns of the habits and white wimples against the dark New York City night, documenting a bold, celebratory confrontation that bridges the gap between the performer and the photographer.