Whenever we visit New York, we usually spend our time chasing whatever’s new. A restaurant everyone is talking about, a neighborhood we haven’t explored yet, or some coffee shop that somehow ended up on my TikTok feed. This time, though, we did the opposite. We took extra time reading reviews, watching videos, and making a list of places in Coney Island we wanted to visit.
I brought along a Fujifilm X100VI because I had a feeling Coney Island would be fun to photograph, and I wasn’t disappointed. Between the weathered signs, old amusement rides, and rows of mismatched umbrellas covering the beach, it felt like I had stepped inside one of Fujifilm’s Classic Negative film simulations. Some places just have a certain look to them, and Coney Island has somehow managed to hold onto its own.
Our first stop was Paul’s Daughter, mostly because my boyfriend had read review after review insisting it was better than Nathan’s Famous. He’s the kind of person who will order a hot dog any chance he gets. I’m usually the one who says I don’t want one, steals a bite of his anyway, and then orders something completely different. I hate admitting it, but this time he was right. It was a damn good dog, and I understood almost immediately why so many people recommended it over the place everyone already knows.
We kept making our way down our list, eventually stopping at Williams Candy Shop after seeing it mentioned in what felt like every Coney Island guide we found. We had also recognized it from the movie Anora, which gave us another excuse to stop inside. The shop has been there since the 1940s, and it feels like it. Nothing about it seems overly polished or designed for social media. It simply feels like a place that’s been making people happy for generations, and I think that’s exactly why people still walk through the door.
Later, we grabbed another quick bite from The Clam Stop. Despite the name, neither of us ordered seafood. We ended up with hot dogs and fries again, found one of the few seats tucked alongside the ordering counter, and sat there for a while watching people wander by. It was one of those moments that wasn’t particularly exciting while it was happening, but somehow became part of what made the day memorable.
As much as we enjoyed wandering through Luna Park and Deno’s Wonder Wheel, we probably spent just as much time sitting on the section of the boardwalk that stretches out over the water. We’d look out at the ocean for a while, then turn around and watch the Cyclone, the Wonder Wheel, and the constant movement of the amusement park behind us. It felt like two completely different worlds sharing the same space. Looking one way was peaceful. Looking the other was pure summer.
At one point I noticed the rows of mismatched umbrellas covering the beach and raised my camera. Looking through the viewfinder, the entire scene reminded me of a page from a Where’s Waldo? book. Every time I looked at the photo afterward, I’d find something new: someone carrying a cooler, kids running toward the water, a family unpacking lunch, someone asleep in a beach chair. It ended up being my favorite photograph from the day, not because it captured one big moment, but because it captured hundreds of tiny ones all happening at once.
I think that’s ultimately what makes Coney Island special. You can plan your day down to the hour checking restaurants and attractions off of your not bummer summer list, or you can spend an afternoon sitting on the boardwalk watching the rides from a distance. Both somehow feel like you’ve experienced Coney Island the way you’re supposed to. In a city that’s constantly reinventing itself, Coney Island feels comfortable being exactly what it has always been, and I hope it stays that way.