Snow, Snow, Snow
Some of my most popular photos on social media are those I’ve taken during or after a snowstorm.
And maybe storm is a bit dramatic, since what we’ve mostly gotten in my six Provincetown winters is a handful of 2-4 inch snowfalls, with one blizzard thrown in for good measure. The blizzard was in late January 2022, and was one of the wildest weather events I’ve lived through. Our winds reached 80-90 mph, and we got about two feet of snow. It was nearly impossible to be outside in the storm, because the wind was so unrelenting.
I was in my glory.
Ever since I was a very young boy, snow has excited me. I have no idea why this is–I know plenty of people who despise the stuff, and I’m not a big skier or anything like that.
If I’m being honest, I think I might like the prospect of snow more than the snow itself (although I do like when it happens). There is something thrilling to me about tracking a storm and watching meteorologists try to forecast the amounts and impacts. And local news, of course, is at its most inane when snow is on the way, which I find highly entertaining.
As a photographer I especially appreciate the snow. For one thing, it dresses up an otherwise drab stretch of many months in Provincetown, when the lush greens of summer have collapsed into heaps of brown vegetation that eventually decompose into nothing.
In this way, snow is a short-term beautification effort, free of charge, and makes for interesting, fun, and challenging photography. Snowfall and snow cover change the light in tricky ways, and can distort our sense of distance and color. I have to work for the shots in a way that’s different than in other kinds of weather (plus my fingers are often freezing and struggling to work my camera).
Why are my Provincetown snow photos popular? My theory is that most people who love Provincetown have rarely been here in the snow or winter generally (and no, coming for the busy and festive Holly Folly weekend in early December does not count!). I find that many people are drawn to seeing what one of their favorite summer places looks like on a snowy winter day, when their go-to restaurants, clubs, houses, and beaches are empty of humans and are snow covered and still.
In this way, the photographs perhaps deepen their relationship with Provincetown, as they see that it’s more than just what they experience. Perhaps a lot more.
Whatever the reason, I’m glad I’m here to help people see it in a new or different or just enjoyable way. It’s worth the frozen fingers and toes!
Most of these are from this winter, and the rest are largely from either February 2021 or January 2022. If you have questions about any of them--or anything else--just send me an email!
Be well, and try not to doom-scroll too much.
P.S. In terms of measuring popularity, my snowy photos of Provincetown get the most likes of anything else I post on Instagram. And my photo of the Lobster Pot after the January 2022 blizzard is by far my bestseller at Botanica. This photo has also been stolen a number of times by people running spam Cape Cod photography accounts on Facebook, which is perhaps a less-than-pleasant measure of people’s interest in this part of my portfolio!
