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in life •  7 years ago 

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!

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Nice work! You made our winters a bit warmer because of your cool photos.

Thank you! That's the hard part about shooting in the winter - actually leaving your warm comfy home to brave the cold weather.

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

Your photos look so magical! It would be amazing and awesome and cool and nice if get to experience a white Christmas. Unfortunately, I'm living in a tropical country, chances of experiencing a white Christmas is 0%. Lol. Anyway, thank you for your posts! They're inspirations for my next travel goals. :)

LOL - I'm also hoping for a white Christmas. I once spent Christmas in Las Vegas - which has a dessert climate and it was very bizarre. All my life I've spent in NYC and it's ALWAYS been cold. It was weird being in a place with a 0 percent chance of snow.

Out of curiosity where do you live?

I live in the Philippines. It's summer all year long here. :( lol

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.

Nice shots!

WOW!

I miss Boston. We used to live on Comm ave in Back Bay. The Public Gardens and Commons were my daily walks. I loved it in the Winter and the snow. Lovely shots.

Boston is a lovely city. Coming from NYC I really appreciate the cleanliness and fresh air!

Ur pictures are sooooo beautiful! OMG!

Thanks - stay tuned for more. :)

Looks good. Pciture quality is amazing as well

Thanks. The high resolution / uncompressed version looks amazing. Posting pictures online is always a compromise of image size vs quality.

Thanks again.

These are more than photos, beautiful work of art, indeed!

Thanks for the kind words. There's a lot more that goes into photography than just clicking the shutter. For 2018 I'll be sharing with the world what it takes to make images. Thanks again.

Wow! your subjective photograph is awesome am inspired i look up to you in learning more bravo u have my vote.....

Thanks - I'm glad I was able to inspire you. Photography is great for many reasons and one of them is getting out to the world. If I can ever help you - feel free to reach out to me.

Beautiful photos. love it. following

Thank you for your support! I'm flattered. :)

Hi Mike. Great to see some other photographers here on Steemit. Is my first day so I am just looking around the community!

Welcome aboard! I just joined the other day and I also went to your website and my hat goes off to you! You're work is absolutely stunning. Let's keep in touch. :)

Wow. For someone who just joined your posts are doing amazingly well!

I was floored when I saw this post doing well. I had zero expectations as everything I read and heard say it can take months to gain any traction. It's hit or miss as I'm still trying to figure out what people what to see / read. At the end of the day I'll be sharing the stories behind my images as well as the process.

Yes ultimately its all about quality content. Enjoy the success mate.

These are some amazing pictures

Thanks!

Winter is definitely here, such amazing place :)

Incredibly beautiful snowy fairy tale!!! Thank you for sharing with us this winter beauty! The photos are fascinating! Very difficult to choose just one favorite photo... Maybe two :)? Then the first and fourth.

I wished I would have thought of using the phrase "fairy tale" lol. Perhaps in the future I'll use that in another post. Plus I guess we have similar sensibilities since those are my 2 favorites as well. Thanks for the lovely comment.

:) I would love to see more pictures made by you ( in future posts) . I love the way you see the world,how you selected camera angles... More beauty for us please :)!

Oh. Cool. Thanks for your sharing.

beautiful pics

Thank you and stay tuned for more pics & the story behind them.

;)

Congratulations @mikeycolon!
Your post was mentioned in the hit parade in the following category:

  • Pending payout - Ranked 1 with $ 119,02

wow! I'm such a frustrated photographer! I always use my photos for my paintings as well. Thanks to this post i have learned a lot! by the way heres a painting of mine hope you like it as well :)

https://steemit.com/art/@kennik/oil-painting-on-a-3x4ft-canvas-with-steps

Sweet! I wish I could draw as well as you do. When I worked in an elementary school and I would doodle - the kids thought I was Picasso - lol. Little did they know my drawings / doodles are terrible.

If you're reading this - I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that left a comment and left a kind word or two!

I also wanted to share my latest post. I think if you liked this post - you're going to love my latest post.

Hugs!

https://steemit.com/life/@mikeycolon/24-hours-in-new-york-city-39-years-in-the-making

great photographs and well written blog

Awesome work!!

Your so very welcome. Have a fantastic day.

Wow! At first, I thought it was a painting as I went through the post I realize its a photography. It's really very beautiful.

Crazy right? It was kind of surreal being there in person.

Totally! Awesome it really is very beautiful.

The first picture is as beautiful as the artist has elaborately designed it.
I praise you for carving a moment of beauty.

Thanks for the kind words. :)