This fall was a sad time for me ... two of my favorite things - Coney Island and Polaroids - closed up shop. Hoarding as much 600 film as I could find, I spent the last few weeks of August popping over to Coney Island after work to take snaps here and there ... kind of a farewell to both at the same time.  One Friday afternoon I was taking a polaroid of "Shoot the Freak" (fitting, no?) on the boardwalk when a swarm of seagulls suddenly surrounded and swooped down on me. I crouched down for a second then suddenly stood right up in the middle of it and just pointed and shot, and this is what I got. (You know you love taking Polaroids when you'd rather get your camera and snap off a pic than safely duck and run.) I don't know why they singled me out, but my friend Jeff laughed hysterically that the polaroid "technology" kept me from being able to snap a bunch in a row. I'm just grateful none of the birds flew off with the picture (or pooped on me!) I will miss both Polaroid and Astroland ... I feel so disappointed that they're both gone from my future (I hate weddings but always said I'd run off and throw a surprise wedding afternoon at Coney Island if I found the right guy ... Polaroids of course would be the only photography of the day), and although this bird attack snap was really an "outtake" to my goodbye project, it's become my favorite memory of my last summer with my two favorite things.