JPG

At Manhattan's annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride March, the West Village becomes a vast stage on which its citizens and guests blur the line between performers and audience members. The entire day, save for a moment of silence observed in remembrance of the impact of AIDS on the gay community, is given over to an ebullient celebration of life and its quantum possibilities. A few hours spent wandering around the parade quickly becomes a day given over to throwing out the script, and joining the cast of millions in an exquisite, public improv.

To this author's mind, the recognition of "beauty" is an acute visceral awareness of the fleeting present. I celebrate this parade goer's confidence, aesthetic, humor and generosity, all of which snapped me into the "now" of that day.

In the Retriever Ethics photo essay.