Coney Island based photography class

Kevin C. Downs Photography

In a place where mermaids danced with 20 legged octopi and drink slingers poured one after another, I first met Kevin C. Downs. It was Mermaid Parade day – my 2^nd favorite day of the year. I had taken the opportunity to send a message to parade goers by carrying a Naval style recruitment poster pushing the need to Save Coney Island. My WAVE style costume was topped off by a remarkable Pin-Up Girl-esque hair-do and proved to be a great concept. My costume and signage allowed me to meet tons of people and I had frequent discussions about the future of Coney Island.

The photo Kevin took of me at the 2008 Mermaid Parade

Most of my friends had left for the evening but I wasn’t quite ready to throw in the towel. Making my way over to Ruby’s I chatted up a bunch of folks and when I got to the bar Frank and I said our hellos before he poured me a cold one from the tap. Perfect end to the night, or so I thought. It was then that Kevin introduced himself to me and asked if he could snap my photo holding the sign. Little did I know that when I took his information in order to get a copy of the print, I would be calling him up for an interview to discuss his photo-journalistic involvement in Coney Island.

It’s been three years since Downs, in conjunction with Dick Zigun, the unofficial Mayor of Coney Island, started the documentary photography class which runs the full span of summer. Every Saturday students meet at the Coney IslandMuseum where they discuss their projects at length. Upon the initial start of the program Downs asks students to choose a primary specific element of Coney Island to document and that their final project tell a story in the subject's voice. Current attendees range from local interest folks to a woman making a stop on her way to obtaining her MFA in photo-journalism. According to Downs, the combination works well when students sit down each week to critique each others work and discuss how they may have done things differently.

Kevin C. Downs Photography

With fourteen weeks to work, it is easily understandable that enrollees of the class become familiar with locals. Kevin explained how each year he enjoys seeing many of the ride operators and business owners in the area build a sense of trust and a natural rapport with his students. Learning the community has already proved successful for the photography program. Coney Island historian and a bit of a local celebrity, Charles Denson, requested that the group do a photo show at the impressive Coney Island History Project. By linking the past to the present, the History Project has rapidly made a home for itself both in our hearts and in its geographical position under the Cyclone.

Beside its local fame, Downs’ class has drawn national acclaim and regularly brings in special guest lecturers including celebrated NY documentarian Louis Stettner, a LincolnHigh School alumnus who has lived in Paris since the 1950’s but continues to make his way to NY each year to shoot. Kevin, much like Stettner, also has an affinity for NY as he has found it seemingly impossible to leave. Originally intending to move to Los Angeles from his hometown in Maryland, Kevin made his way to Pratt where he earned his BFA and decided to plant his roots here in NY due to what he calls a love for Brooklyn. Living in Williamsburg since 1981, way before it was trendy, Kevin describes his first trip to Coney Island in the early 80’s as pure inspiration as it was a place that so many different photographers and artists have come to work. When asked what his favorite thing about Coney is, Kevin told me “It’s a place where all of NY can meet, Rich and Poor”. I will second that! 

Kevin’s time spent teaching the class and documenting Coney Island is done so on a voluntary basis. This doesn’t surprise me at all as the passion behind his other projects which all lie under the unifying theme of gentrification is blatantly obvious when we discuss his changed neighborhood. Kevin is currently working on a project on the impending gentrification of WillisPoint, Queens as well as a project in downtown Los Angeles. He describes the LA project as a drive to bring light to the fact that the heavily populated Latino district is one of the only places where people in the surrounding area can afford goods and services and the likely shift to high-priced condos will inevitably result in the loss of the mom and pop culture. After telling me fervently “To destroy somebody’s American Dream? It’s not OK!” – Kevin vowed that he plans to continue traveling across the country to raise the awareness of what we are losing.

For now, Coney Island is still ours and as first-class community members we should try to participate in these readily available projects in our own backyard. Fully benefitting the non-profit Coney Island, USA, the photography program starts a new session at the beginning of each summer but there is no need to wait until then to seek additional information.

Much like the Mom and Pop shops to which Kevin is tied through his work, Coney Island’s impending gentrification does come with the likelihood of losing what Downs described as his favorite part of Coney, as well as what many others find so alluring about our Sodom by the Sea. Coney Island really is a place for all of NY to come, rich or poor, and supporting local artisan programs like this one will help keep it that way.

For more info:   Kevin C. Downs  Coney Island USA