Capturing the "Snowpocalypse" with the Fuji X100

Monday's blizzard was supposed to be an historic event, according to New York City's Mayor De Blasio. While the snowfall didn't set any records, there was quite a bit of wintry weather through the evening. With a travel ban issued across the city, the streets were mostly free of cars, so I set out with my Fuji X100 (in a ziplock bag) to explore the neighborhood.

Into the Void Williamsburg Pier Fuji X100, f/2, 1/80, ISO 3200

Bedford Avenue in the Storm Fuji X100, f/2, 1/50, ISO 1600

The Lone Food Truck Fuji X100, f/2, 1/105, ISO 3200

La Esquina Fuji X100, F/2, 1/170, ISO 1600

With a travel ban in effect, all taxis had to be off the roads. Fuji X100, f/2, 1/30, ISO 1600

Blow, winds... Fuji X100, f/2, 1/50, ISO 3200

S. 6th Street at 4am Fuji X100, f/2, 1/40, 1600

Cameraman

It certainly has been one of the harshest, coldest and most unpleasant winters I've experienced in New York City (and worse than any winter during my time in Toronto for that matter). So, when I finished my teaching job yesterday and stepped out onto the streets of Soho to find it was a sunny, 64 degrees outside, I was certainly delighted. On my way home, I took an extended walk through Soho, and up to Union Square with my Canon Eos-M, snapping away at a city just bursting to be outdoors. Just south of Union Square, I came across this gentleman, who, while not talkative, let me take this photo.

Shooting an Overnight Time-lapse in Times Square

Sunset in Times Square

Last night was one of the coldest nights so far this winter in NYC, and I spent most of it outside in Times Square, working with Jon Morris, the Creative Director of The Windmill Factory. Jon is directing a music video of the song Fool for Firehorse, and needed to shoot a time-lapse in Times Square. With Director of Photography, Branan Edgens taking care of the technical end of things, setting up the Canon 7D to shoot every 4 seconds, we set in for a long, cold night in midtown to watch the camera, change the batteries and make sure everything was happening according to plan. I took the first shift from the late afternoon through the early evening and then came back for the final shift at 6am.

Jon Morris of The Windmill Factory

A little before 8pm, as I was grabbing some coffee and warming up at Starbucks, I happened to recognized Philip Bloom grabbing a coffee as well. I consider Philip to be the guru of DSLR filmmaking and time-lapses. He's is incredibly talented, and has been very generous with his fantastic tutorials and behind-the-scenes insights on shooting, lighting, gear and post-production. Basically, everything I know about shooting video with a DSLR and creating time-lapses I learned from his blog. He was really nice, and stopped by our set-up to check out what we were up to and shared with us the infrared shots he's been taking in NYC (which can be seen on Flickr here). It was a very cool and inspirational encounter!

Philip Bloom (left) and Will O'Hare (Right)

I tend to avoid the crowds in Times Square as much as possible, but it was interesting to watch the mass of humanity unfold before us as we stayed in one place for so long. Tourists came and went, many asking us to snap photos of them in Times Square, and two couples got engaged in front of us on the stairs, including a couple from Berlin that I chatted with and I took a couple of photos for them.

A newly engaged couple from Berlin celebrates in Times Square

I also took advantage of shooting some HDR photos and some panoramas with my Fuji X100. Once the video is finished, I'll share a link here as well.

Paula and I trying to keep warm!