Photography | Amusing the Zillion

Posts Tagged ‘Photography’

Photo of the Day: Nathan’s Famous at Night

Posted in Food, Photo of the Day, tagged Coney Island, hot dogs, Nathan's Famous, neon, Photography, signage, tender offer on December 6, 2011| 4 Comments »

Nathan's Famous at Night, Surf Avenue in Coney Island. August 8, 2011. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Instead of doing a Best Photos of 2011 in December, we’re going to feature some images that we either overlooked or didn’t have time to upload to flickr during the busy summer. The signage of Nathan’s Famous, a fave subject for us and many who regularly photograph Coney Island, is today’s better-late-than-never “Photo of the Day.”

Nathan’s was in the news on Monday when the Jericho, NY-based company announced they will buy back up to $11 million worth of their common stock–up to 500,000 shares– beginning on December 8th. “The Company intends to fund this tender offer with cash on hand. At September 25, 2011, the Company had approximately $15.2 million of cash and cash equivalents and $16.9 million of marketable securities,” according to the press release.

At $3.80 per hot dog (including tax), $11 million will also buy you 2,894,736 hot dogs. Thatsa lotta beef, but last year Nathan’s, which started out selling franks for a nickel in 1916, sold over 425 million of their world-famous hot dogs.

In 2012, Nathan’s Famous will open a huge new restaurant at the corner of West 12th on the Coney Island Boardwalk at Gyro Corner Clam Bar’s former location. Their satellite restaurant at the corner of Stillwell on the Boardwalk has closed and the signage was removed last week.

Photo Album: Snowtober in Coney Island by Bruce Handy

Posted in Photo Album, tagged Bruce Handy, Coney Island, Photography, snowstorm, Snowtober on October 31, 2011| 3 Comments »

In past years, ATZ has posted Coney Island resident and photographer Bruce Handy’s first snow of the season photos on December 4 and December 27. Thanks to Saturday’s freaky snowstorm, dubbed Snowtober on the web, we’re celebrating this tradition two months early!

In addition to a snow-covered Boardwalk, Bruce’s flickr slide show offers snow-dusted Halloween characters and the rare sight of the Wonder Wheel’s cars, which ordinarily have been taken down for the winter before the first snowfall. One of our perennial favorites is a white-on-white view of the Cyclone’s snow-covered track. It’s a visual reminder that the first roller coasters were Russian ice slides called “Russian Mountains” and the word for coasters in the Romance languages is the lovely “montagnes russes” in French, “montagne russe” in Italian, and “montaña rusa” in Spanish.

Unfortunately, the October snow that transformed Coney Island into a winter wonderland on an autumn day coincided with the last weekend of the season. Outdoor events such as the second annual Children’s Halloween Parade were cancelled on Saturday, though Ruby’s Bar stayed open and the show went on at Creep Show at the Freak Show. Have no fear about going out to Coney Island for tonight’s “Freaks Night Out” party at Luna Park. The snow and ice on the beach and boardwalk have already melted and the temp is a balmy 52 degrees. If it wasn’t for Bruce’s Coney Island Photo Diary, Snowtober would have vanished without a trace. Enjoy the tricks and the treats—Happy Halloween!

Snow-dusted Halloween Character at the Cyclone. October 29, 2011. Photo © Bruce Handy/Coney Island Photo Diary via flickr

Photo of the Day: Across the Street from the Cyclone

Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged Coney Island, Cyclone, Photography, reflections on August 8, 2011| 4 Comments »

This surreal window display is across the street from the Coney Island Cyclone. Located on the north side of Surf Avenue, where the original Luna Park was in business until 1944, the shop is sandwiched between furniture stores that are forever having going out of business sales. If the days of furniture stores named after amusement parks (Luna Park, Astroland) are numbered, it’s because bars and restaurants are blossoming down the block. The flower shop’s window unexpectedly conjures up memories of set pieces from Coney’s vanished wax museums and historical shows, but it’s unlikely we’ll ever see such amusements again on the north side of Surf.