Anyway — who’s in? Let’s meet at the N Train at 8th Avenue at the south end of Chinatown. We’ll walk up 8th Avenue and hopefully sample a few of the local delicacies like hand-pulled noodles, banh mi, and dumplings to ward off the cold. Please feel free to invite friends!

Date: Saturday, January 21st
Time: 3:00pm – 6:00pm (or later!)
Location: Meet outside the N train at 8th Avenue!

Bring a tripod if you want to continue shooting after dark! And if you just want to come along for the food — I don’t blame you.

If you’re headed to the show, send me a tweet @loveofbrooklyn or @hipstersunited – would love to see you there!

Check out some great shots of the festival that are already cropping up in our Flickr group! What were your favorite exhibits?

“Uni Glow,” by Josh Derr:

“DUMBO Arts Festival,” by Jane Kratochvil:

“love love love love love love love love love,” by Joel Zimmer:

“The Fighter,” and Untitled by Josh Derr:

“DUMBO Arts Festival,” by Jane Kratochvil:

“Love Me,” by Joel Zimmer:

“Projection Mapping,” by Josh Derr:

“Horsing Around,” by Deana Setzke and “The Dumpster Project,” by Joel Zimmer:

“Crate Gallery,” by Joel Zimmer:

This photograph is part of Wilkes’ collection called “Day to Night,” and the pieces are impressive: huge composite photographs of iconic New York landscapes capturing the ebb and flow of the human masses — and the ever-changing light. In an interview with the Village Voice, he describes his process:

It dawned on me, I’m studying New York as an emergent life form, and the way you can see the city flow, it’s a form of emergent behavior. You realize that the pedestrians are communicating, the cabs, all these elements are coming together and creating a complex life form. In a way that’s how the city works. And, in a strange way, photographically, it’s almost an emergent form, the concept of a single photo is being changed in this way.

I can’t wait to go check the gallery out and see his large format pieces up close and personal — the exhibition at CLAMPART runs through October 29th.

May you wear your patriotism proudly on your sleeve all year long — like this guy!

Coney Island Mermaid Parade portraits by Jane Kratochvil:

“Coney Island Mermaid Parade 2011,” by Anthony Catalano:

Untitled portraits, by Sajid Fakir and Anthony Catalano:

Untitled, by Anthony Catalano:

Untitled portraits, by triebensee:

Check out some of my favorites below and stay tuned for more as the week continues. If you’re hungry for more, be sure to check out these fantastic sets by Adam Lerner, Jane Kratochvil, Oscar Rivera, and Leanne Staples!

“Coney Island Mermaid Parade” portraits by Jane Kratochvil:

Untitled, by Sajid Fakir:

“Dumb Bell” and “Vixen Mermaid,” by Leanne Staples:

“Mermaid Parade 2011,” by Jimmy O’Kelly:

Untitled Portraits, by David Figueroa:

“Mermaid Parade – It Takes All Kinds,” by Vitaliy Piltser:

Untitled portraits, by Adam Lerner:

Untitled, by Adam Lerner:

A big group of us met up before the parade for an unofficial meetup and had a ton of fun. This week I’ll be featuring some of my favorite shots from the parade, because let’s be honest — it’s one of my very favorite unique-to-New-York institutions. Where else can you go to see this much crazy in one place??!

I’m keeping an eye on galleries as they crop up, so please be sure to post a link to your gallery in the comments or tweet @loveofbrooklyn if you’d like me to feature your gallery this week! Here are some of the great ones I’ve spotted so far and some beautiful photos to kick us off!

Untitled, by Vivienne Gucwa:

“Mermaid Parade 2011,” by Jimmy O’Kelly and Untitled, by Oscar Rivera:

Untitled Trio of Photographs, by Michael Pearce:

“Coney Island Mermaid Parade 2011,” by Vivienne Gucwa:

Clockwise, from top left: “Mermaid Parade 2011,” by Jimmy O’Kelly, Untitled, by Michael Pearce, “Smoke Break” by Michael Tapp, and Untitled by Lucy Aboytes:

Texting Seahorses, by Barry Yanowitz:

“Coney Island Mermaid Parade,” by Vitaliy Piltser:

Last year, For the Love of Brooklyn hosted a meet-up for the event, but the crowds were huge and it was a bit tough to do much photo-walking, let alone photo-standing. So, this year if anyone’s interested, I’ll be heading down a couple of hours early around 11:30-12pm to spend some quality time in the $5-per-camera staging area and walking around as the revelers arrive. If anyone would like to join, leave a comment here or over on Facebook!

In the meantime, check out some of my favorite shots from last year! Aren’t these photographs amazing?

Untitled, by Barry Yanowitz:

Untitled, by Javier11238 and “Electric Blue,” by SpecialKRB:

Untitled, by Jane MacNeil:

Untitled, by Lucy Aboytes and “We Think This is Not a Costume” by SpecialKRB:

“The Life Aquatic,” by Lucy Aboytes:

Untitled, by Joanna Pan:

“Mermaid Parade 2010,” by Jessica Amaya:

“A Coney Island Mermaid,” by GioVision:

Check out some gorgeous work below and hop on over to the Flickr group for more. Stay tuned for details about the next meetup, which I’m super excited about!

“Valentino Pier,” by Josh Derr:

Untitled, by Barry Yanowitz:

A collection of shots by Michael Pearce:

“Red Hook Cranes,” by Alvim Gimarino:

“Sunny’s Bar,” by Josh Derr:

“Rollin’ By,” by http://www.flickr.com/photos/54729663@N04/ and Untitled by Oscar Rivera:

“Fort Defiance,” by Josh Derr:

Untitled, by Barry Yanowitz: