Perks of Winter Living in Provincetown
Mornings in Provincetown are my favorite time of day. Even in the busy summer months, when the town’s population can swell from 3,200 to 60,000, the mornings are quiet in town. Dog walkers, painters, photographers, cyclists, and runners have the streets and trails to themselves.
This time of year, deep in the off-season, I am often the only person out in the early hours, which makes for easy photography because no one is ever in my way, strolling through the perfect shot. I still see dog walkers, painters, photographers, cyclists, and runners, but their numbers are a fraction of what they are in the summer. Everyone is also bundled up and moving fast, given the near-constant wind off the water we have late Fall through mid-Spring.
The other thing I love about the winter mornings is the light. As I’ve said before (over on my coaching blog), the light here is always good. But the mornings and evenings are especially good–and the Winter light is especially magical for some reason. I suppose it has to do with the angle of the sun in the sky relative to the Earth’s own angle, but I’m not a scientist so I don’t really know!
Oddly, the light in the winter is in some ways more intense than in the summer–it shines right in your eyes with a directness that borders on being rude. It seems to be staring you down, daring you to stay outside and endure the wind and cold. Yet the winter light is also somehow thinner than that of summer. It’s more directly in your eyes, but you and it both know it doesn’t pack the heat and stamina of the summer sun.
Also in the winter months, the sun rises (and sets) farther to the south than it does in the summer. So the winter sunrise illuminates parts of town that don’t get direct early morning light in the warmer months. This shift expands the number of places where I can catch that morning glow–which is important in a small town that doesn’t have streets and streets and streets of buildings to shoot the way a big city does. This limit presents a very fun challenge for people doing creative work here.
I also find it important to remind myself that the sunlight is always here, even in the cold months and even on the cloudy days. That’s another incentive to grab my camera and catch that morning light when it makes an appearance.
Below are some photos I took on winter morning shoots this year and last. I recently posted these on my Instagram feed with some additional details about each. Check it out if you want to know more–or send me a message!
