A Photographer On The Prowl Captured New York City's Most Outrageous Halloween Costumes
New Yorkers traded masks for ... well, different masks this Halloween weekend, and Adam Powell captured some of the best costumes on the streets.
Adam Powell is a British photographer who brings an outsider's eye to his street photos of New York and America as a whole. His work often focuses on obsession, and for many people, Halloween is as obsessed as they get. His photos of America seek out the strange and reflect it back for us to consider. There's never been a better time to get weird than Halloween, nearly two years into the pandemic, with plenty pent-up energy and costume ideas boiling over.
For these photos, Powell crisscrossed Manhattan and Brooklyn over two days and brought us back the best of the costume landscape.
Scooby and the gang take a seat in Washington Square Park.
Left, a man walks his dog in Bushwick, Brooklyn, both dressed as skeletons. Right, a Jeff Koons balloon dog in Union Square.
A pair of ghosts take a seat in Washington Square Park.
Left, a man dressed as the Joker, livestreams from Times Square; right, a couple dressed up as Shreks outside a bar in the East Village.
Three women dressed as the Blue Man Group leave the subway in Brooklyn.
Costumes along the parade route
A group dressed as playing cards makes their way up 6th Avenue.
Left, the Hulk makes a stop in a liquor store in the East Village; right, a man in makeup outside a bar in the East Village.
Halloween revelers catch the L train into the city on Oct. 30, 2021.
Left, a woman in a gimp costume is led by her partner in Union Square; right, a dog dressed up for the occasion.
A cowboy and his cow enjoy a drink at a bar in the West Village.
Left, the tin man with a beer; right, a Bob Ross painting takes a drink.
A group of superheroes gathers for photos by the fountain in Washington Square Park.
Left, a child dressed up as a chicken gets taken trick-or-treating in Bushwick, Brooklyn; right, a witch alights the Q train at Times Square.
A ghostly figure walks down Houston Street.
Left, a reveler dressed up as Cynthia from Rugrats at 3 Dollar Bill, Brooklyn; right, assless chaps in the East Village.
Popular drag queen Rify Royalty preparing for her show in the bathroom of 3 Dollar Bill in Brooklyn.
Left, a nun and a clown in a bar; right, a king sits alone in Washington Square Park.
The dancefloor of 3 Dollar Bill, where people had gathered for the "Haus of Whorrors."
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Pia Peterson is a photo editor at BuzzFeed News, and is based in Brooklyn.
Contact Pia Peterson at pia.peterson@buzzfeed.com.
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