LETTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
I have long admired the beachy, fun aerial photography of Gray Malin. There’s a whimsy to it and an easiness that I admire. Whether it is a snap of a beach in St-tropez or one in the Hamptons, you really get a sense of joy when you look at them.
I had the great delight of cohosting the launch of Gray’s book Beaches at Serena + Lily Beach Market in Wainscott last summer. We had throngs of guests all sipping Veuve Clicquot and snapping up issues of Hamptons and, of course, the coffee-table book of the season by Gray. Our friendship really began there, and this winter we brainstormed how to do something bigger together. The “aha!” moment happened while Gray was telling me about some product launches he had in the works that would be for sale in the Hamptons, as well as some new local photo shoots. We batted around some ideas and looked at a ton of his work. We finally selected the image that is featured on the cover.
This issue is also filled with other fun moments in photography. Artist Ben Fink Shapiro shares his beach snaps, we catch up with surfer-turned-photographer Read Mckendree, and Montauk’s Michael Dweck launches a rosé that fea- tures his surf photography on the label.
The arts are such a part of the East End, but with the joys come the challenges. This winter we lost the Sag Harbor Cinema to a terrible fire, and in this issue, we take a look at the swift way the community has come together to rebuild it. I’m delighted to have been asked by artist and Sag Harbor resident April Gornik, who is spearheading the fundraising, to be a part of the advisory board. Amazing work has already been done: $2 million has been pledged by the likes of Billy Joel, Martin Scorsese, and Harvey Weinstein toward the Sag Harbor Partnership. The total cost is $8 million, and we need to reach 75 percent in donations and pledges by July 1 to protect the $1 million already pledged by another hero donor. Scorsese has said, “I hope people from all over the East End will join in this fight to save Sag Harbor’s center of culture.” It’s a call that I heard, and I hope you do, too. Please go to sagharborcinema.org for more information on how to get involved and give.