Boston Winter Wonderland
Boston Winter Wonderland
Last Friday my nephews were staying over and I thoroughly enjoyed their company because they were so excited playing video games. I was trying to think of a time that I was so excited about something as they were.
Then it started to snow. Snow is beautiful coming down - but as adults we know things are going to get messy outside once it starts to melt. Before I went to bed I took Gizmo for his nightly walk and as I stepped out of my building I was blown away as to how beautiful the trees looked with snow on them.
Then I thought to myself I might as well go outside in the morning to take sunrise pictures of the snow on trees. Sure I can do it in the day, but there’d be too many people ruining the shot. Plus there would be more tracks in the snow - so I decided morning time was the best shot.
Getting up super early is hard for me as I’m a night owl. But the good news is I’d already be up because my wife was going on a business trip - which meant we had to wake up at 4am. I looked up the sunrise time in Boston and it’s currently 7:30 am.
So the plan was to wake up, drop her off at the airport and hit the city. I wasn’t sure where to go so I thought back about last year and decided to shoot the trellis at Boston’s North End (by Faneuil Hall) then get to Boston Common Park and scout out locations to shoot.
But there was a screwball thrown in the plan as for whatever reason I couldn’t sleep. And we’ve all been at that crossroad where we have to decide if it’s worth sleeping for an hour and feel like crap - or just break night. I decided to break night and tough it out like a real man!
Although it stoped snowing the wind was still blistering. Which meant I wasn’t about to bring different lenses with me because changing lenses would be a pain in the - you know what. I decided to challenge myself to only use a 70mm - 200mm telephoto lens. Last year (http://www.mikeycolon.com/places/boston/holiday-in-the-winter) I used an ultra-wide 16mm-35mm lens, so why not mix it up this year?
9 times out of 10 when I set out to shoot the city at night I always end up running in to crazy people. This time it was a lady (who had to have been sky high) ranting about reptilians and other head scratching topics.
I was also surprised to see people jogging at 5 in the morning. Now that’s dedication! Another interesting tidbit I’d like to share - was that around 6am there was a guy taking pictures of himself doing pushups. He used a giant ladder as a tripod and to prop up his phone to get a higher vantage point.
I didn’t know what he was doing until I asked him. It turns out he does pushups everyday in different locations around Boston. He then takes the pictures and sends them to his daughters in California.
You can see me on the bridge in the background while the Pushup Man does his morning routine. Definitely take a look at his work as it’ll put a smile on your face! [https://www.instagram.com/pushupman/}
Fast forward and I by the time I made it home was 8:30am. I walked the doggies and crashed. On my quest to start documenting my photographic journey, I filmed myself going through the process of editing the pictures. It took an hour and forty five minutes and I’ll have to figure out a way to chop it down to 20.
All that being said - I hope you like the pictures as much as I did creating them, and please let me know which one is your favorite!
Nice, maybe I should go to Boston for a vacation.
I'd recommend coming in the spring or the fall. Summers here are humid!
Wow! So beautiful! :)
Thanks - I'm glad you like them. :)
Close your eyes. Hear the silent snow. Listen to your soul speak.
wow, I miss Boston so much, lived there (my family still does). Now, I am studying in France, but I am back in 9 days, I hope the snow is still there. Thank you for those pictures! they really made miss my home but also exited to come back!
The snow will probably be gone by the time you get here. I don't know how long you've been in France but definitely try to enjoy your time while you're still there.
thank you!
woowww these are some amazing shots!
your photoshop editing is bad very bad sorry
very nice photos!
Thanks for taking the time to check this post out. I appreciate it :)
These photos are so enjoyable, they just gave me chills by just looking at them and imagine how cold it was to be there trying to make a good shot.
Btw the guy doing pushups deserves some kind of trophy.
Yea it was pretty cold. But when you're in the zone trying to create something, it's a bit of an afterthought. I was more concerned about the crazy people out and about. There's a huge opioid problem in the Boston area and 9 times out of ten I always have some kind of encounter when shooting at night.
Wowww a magic place! :D
Stunning photographs. Like really awesome work. It takes me back to my vacation in Sweden in 2012 when I first met snow in my life. Snow is majestic. It really is. Thank you for sharing this and bringing back fond memories of the past.
When I moved to Boston 2 years ago, you wouldn't believe the amount of snow. By the time the winter season finished it snowed over 120 inches! There was so much snow there wasn't a place to put it and it became an issue.
All I know is that after that winter season I definitely want to move somewhere tropical. And by somewhere I mean New Zealand.
My take is - why not move to paradise?
I live in Cape Town, in an away tropical or a paradise. There are some negatives: when the rain stops everything tends to die because of the need for a lot of water. But there are so many greats. So yes, I prefer the heat over the cold.