Winter Wonderland

Last week, we had the final snow storm of the season. This time I was fully prepared for it and my route started at Times Square and ended, as always, at Central Park. However, from Times Square I walked downtown, on Broadway, towards Union Square and from there I took the yellow line uptown to the park.

By the time I took my camera out, at Times Square, the streets were already full with street photographers capturing photos with pretty professional gear. It seems like photographing snow storms is getting quite popular in the city these days.

While I was walking through the streets I got the feeling that this is all old news; like I have already seen it before. But when I arrived at Madison Square Park, I was blown away, it was absolutely spectacular. I stood on a bench near the dog run and waited for the perfect moment. At this point my hands were completely frozen because the snow on the gloves started melting and froze again into ice.

I decided to look for a shelter to warm up in but I couldn't resist taking a few shots of the adorable snowmen standing in front of the Flatiron building.

Finally, I found my refuge place in a nearby office building, which also gave me the opportunity to capture the storm from above.

After thawing my gloves and warming up I went to Union Square. In a few hours of snow the place was completely white and the chunks of snow falling down were the perfect addition to this "'winter wonderland" scene.

No Pants Subway Ride

Yesterday I decided to check out the annual No Pants Subway Ride. I thought it should be a good opportunity to practice my street photography skills, as usually at these type of events people are very cooperative in front of the camera. Also, since this happens in the subway, I decided to embrace the graininess of photographing at high ISO. Usually, I like my photos sharp and clear, so I limit my ISO to 1600 and I never use flash. However, after listening to Mel DiGiacomo's lecture, I changed the ISO limit to 6400 in my 7D Canon camera. Around 4:00 PM, I put on my pants, took my gear and headed to Union Square Subway Station.

I didn't see any pant-less people on the subway ride towards Union Station but when I got there I knew I'm in the right place. Making my way through the sea of photographers and pant-less people was not an easy task. The place was so crowded that the station was even darker than usual.

The first person I noticed was a man wearing a Minimouse T-Shirt, high-heels and black underwear. I looked for a good spot, knelt down and started taking some photos of him next to all the other photographers. Little did I knew that although I'm wearing pants I too can become a victim of the paparazzi.

One of the photographers decided to turn around and photograph me instead of the "heel wearing guy" and he was promptly joined by the other photographers. I found the situation very amusing and I love the surprised look on the man with the jacket sitting next to the heel wearing guy. The combination of emotions displayed by the two men sitting on the bench is how I felt during the situation: shocked and amused.  

Almost always I find animals that helps me feel more comfortable among people. This time I found two; a dog and a bear. The dog was very cute and I liked the fact that he was surrounded by bare legs and that he too was pant-less. I took a few photos of the dog and the legs until I heard someone talking to himself saying: "There is a bear, knitting, with no pants on the subway! This is ridiculous! I turned around and I saw a knitting, pant-less bear.

All and all, no pants subway ride was a joyful event. The people were happy and smiley and very easy going. It was hilarious to hear comments by people who randomly walked into the station only to find hoard of photographers mixed with semi-naked people hanging around the premises of the station.

However, with all the commission and the build-up for this event, I was left with the feeling that this is just another day on MTA. To me, it seems that every day in this city is a "pant-less day".