Last Thursday, I ditched a class to go shoot an actual earnest snowstorm in Central Park as it was happening (rf: see the previous post about the blizzard that didn’t happen). Because of the dense cloud cover, the thick snow in the air, and rapid accumulation on a cold day with heavy snowfall, the park looked like a real outdoor environment. I could almost forget I was smack dab in the middle of an enormous urban metropolis.

Then the weekend happened. New York warmed up suddenly to a balmy 50 degrees in the matter of four days. Therefore, on my way to orchestra rehearsal at the Lincoln Center (a whole other cool topic), I decided to take a leisurely stroll through the park with my camera.

The difference was striking. Walking paths were completely free of snow. So were the trees. The sky was a crystal blue. The park was so alive with vendors, artists, families, and tourists you’d think that it was spring already.

What was most striking was how soon it had happened. Last Thursday was the previous orchestra rehearsal. For that, my friends and I failed to hail a cab for 20 minutes because everyone was so eager get home after work. I distinctly remember playing violin with soaking shoes for 2.5 hours, and it was unpleasant.

You know what else surprised me? Man, trying to do a time lapse without a tripod is hard!

I only got the idea when already walking, so I just did my best to exactly match my old perspective and framing by looking at the previous shots on my phone. The result? I failed miserably. These 5 I salvaged with clever cutting of the fade (or else they’d all be straight up and down). The other 20 were so off that it wasn’t even worth trying. Wops.