Photos From New York City's Halloween Dog Parade

First time photographing a beloved East Village event in Tompkins Square Park.

Welcome to In the Flash, a reader-supported publication about intent and creativity in photography.

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The Tompkins Halloween Dog Parade has been taking place for 34 years. I have lived in East Village for a decade now, and every year I got photographer’s FOMO seeing dressed-up dogs and realizing I forgot about the day and didn’t have my camera. This October, I decided to be proactive and go out and shoot the event once and for all, just for fun. I knew it was going to be much harder than it seems. The cute factor of the parade is too high to allow for interesting photos, and the dressed-up dogs on their own make for a boring photo. As usual, I thought, “What would David Lynch do?”

I shot from the POV of a dog, with my camera on the ground and looking up at the friendly (and sometimes perplexed) animals who were incredibly stoic about my off-camera flash. When editing, I tried to eliminate any photos that fit under the descriptor of "cute." I am not entirely sure I succeeded, but here are the photos.

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Find me on Instagram @dina_litovsky

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