‘Coney Island beach and boardwalk is such an iconic fixture in so many people’s New York summers,” Mariel Tyler says of the location of this iPhone photograph. She and her twin sister, Katherine, make up the Tyler Twins, professional photographers who specialise in celebrity portraits, events and concerts. Past subjects include Jay-Z, Whoopi Goldberg and Lady Gaga.
Mariel took this image in 2015. “Normally when we shoot professionally, we pass the camera back and forth. Whoever is not shooting is directing. We rarely remember, or care, who took what shot. It’s always a joint effort,” Mariel says. “This shot was entirely spontaneous. The work I do with my sister often has to be more thought out, so it’s nice to shoot without expectations sometimes. On this occasion, Katherine was on a work trip in LA but, ironically, had taken photos of Santa Monica pier earlier that day.”
The various silhouettes, Mariel adds, capture what a day at the beach is all about: “Made up of many little moments and authentic human interactions in an otherwise chaotic world”.
She used the iPhone app Afterlight to convert the image to black and white. “While some photos really benefit from being in colour, others seem to be more about composition and value. The tonality enhances the waves’ shapes and texture compared with the sands, and the silhouetted bodies stand out more,” she says.
“It encapsulates a sense of timelessness: a day at the beach is such a simple pleasure and universal pastime that it just felt right. I hope people look at it and think of a pleasant memory of time spent on the water or are reminded of ‘their place’, wherever that may be.”
