Quarantine Summer

Now that it is July, Brooklynites are truly in our quarantine summer. Though we may not have our usual bevy of pastimes to look forward to, beaches reopened with lifeguards yesterday, and we are continually entertained (and sometimes annoyed) by fireworks in neighborhoods across the borough and city.

This image brings these two pastimes together, showing a view of the sunset behind the Coney Island shoreline with a double exposure of an image of fireworks. A double-exposure is when two images are exposed on a single frame, creating a layered and unique visual effect. Whether you are out at the beach, in a park, or however you choose to mark the weekend, keep social distancing, and wear a mask!

This image comes from the Otto Dreschmeyer Brooklyn Slides (v1988.12), which includes 157 images taken between 1965 and 1968. An amateur photographer, (likely using a Hasselblad camera), Otto Dreschmeyer’s style captured moments of everyday reality within Brooklyn’s public spaces. This collection is fully digitized and may be viewed online here.

Interested in seeing more photos from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images. We look forward inviting you back to BHS is the future to research in our entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections. In the meantime, please visit our digital collections, available here. Our reference staff are still available to help with your research! You can reach us at library@brooklynhistory.org.