CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 7/21/2017

Fire Island Pines in its infancy and its heyday

In 1975, when Tom Bianchi first started photographing summertime life in the Fire Island Pines, he framed his Polaroids so as to hide the identities of the people he was shooting. “I’d lay the instant Polaroids out for everyone to see as I made them. At first I shot the subjects without identity to ensure anonymity for those who needed it, focusing on atmosphere. As time passed, friends became comfortable with the smiles on their faces being recorded.” An amazing time capsule of an irresistibly optimistic place and time.