Winter In New England

 

With the warm summer days a distant memory and our surroundings changing before our eyes, a new opportunity for capturing the beauty of New England is now focused within the lens. As the temperatures outside fall, so does that magnificent color palette of autumn. In its place, we are left with endless opportunities as photographers, both professional and hobbyist, to see the world in which we live transform into what many people feel is the most visual time of the year.

Winter in New England hosts cold gray days, a small amount of sunshine and temperatures outside that drop to single digits. Now add in snow and ice and it becomes the perfect mixture that will drive many people to warmer climates until spring returns. To be completely honest, there are times when I wonder why I spend my winters here. Standing outside with a camera on my shoulder in February wearing a heavy coat, boots, a hat and gloves and all the time knowing that I could be somewhere else, doing the same job, wearing shorts and sandals seems much more appealing. What would be missed are the four seasons and that to me is something that I do not want to give up, especially as a photographer. Where else can you put a camera on a tripod, take the same shot in all four seasons and have it look completely different. That is the magic of New England.

Winter can be harsh but it also holds beauty that is not shared with any other time of the year. Flowing rivers turning to ice crystals while pine needles become a bed for new fallen snow, is true art in its purest form. A sunrise seems to take on more of an amber glow during these cold mornings and late in the day, the shadows will reach out further as the days become shorter. Everything seems to slow down around us as the landscape that we once knew goes dormant, leaving the colors that remain to show its true brilliance.

For some people, the season of winter is a time to sit next to a warm fire and look out beyond frosted window panes and wait for spring to arrive. There is nothing wrong with that concept.  In fact, it sounds very inviting. The other alternative is to go outside and explore what is normally camouflaged by the other three seasons. We have a small window of time to experience this and for me, it’s one of the many reasons  why New England is such a special place to live.

 

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