drawing life

Snowy Skyy, 2001, photo by Fred Hatt

Last weekend the Eastern U.S. had its first major snowfall of the season, immediately preceding the Winter Solstice.  Around this time of year our culture ritually celebrates the White Christmas and the Winter Wonderland, Jack Frost and Frosty the Snowman, calling up nostalgic images of horse-drawn sleigh rides and cozy houses among rolling hills of pure white.  The reality of snow in the city is more conflicted, both soft and harsh, beauty that rapidly becomes ugliness.  In honor of the season, here are some photos from my collection, images of great New York City snowfalls of the past decade.

Streetlamps illuminate the beautiful movement of swirling snow.  Because of its lightness, snow shows the complexity of whorls and eddies in the flowing air:

Streetlamp Flurry, 2003, photo by Fred Hatt

Snow at Ground Zero, 2005, photo by Fred Hatt

The first dusting adds a cool glamor to the gritty street:

Powdered Bus Lane, 2003, photo by Fred Hatt

Snow Traffic, 2001, photo by Fred Hatt

Nothing imparts mystery to our mundane environment of walls and ads like a white veil:

Snow-Masked, 2003, photo by Fred Hatt

I Love You, 2006, photo by Fred Hatt

Even when the snow is really coming down, the city is always full of rush and bustle:

Spring Snow, 2003, photo by Fred Hatt

Colors on White, 2003, photo by Fred Hatt

If it gets heavy enough, the car traffic stops and major streets become walkways, as in these pictures taken while walking down the middle of Broadway during the blizzard of 2003:

Posing in Blizzard, 2003, photo by Fred Hatt

Snowy Broadway, 2003, photo by Fred Hatt

In the photo immediately above you can see the fog-like effect, with objects in the distance fading to white.  As night falls, beams of light cut and color the swirls and piles:

Snow in Headlights, 2005, photo by Fred Hatt

Blizzard Outside Deli, 2005, photo by Fred Hatt

Snowy Sidewalk, 2005, photo by Fred Hatt

Snow Shadows, 2003, photo by Fred Hatt

Snowscape, 2005, photo by Fred Hatt

Snow’s crumbly clumps cling to windows:

Snowy Windshield, 2005, photo by Fred Hatt

Snow on Skylight, 2003, photo by Fred Hatt

Like grains of sand in an oyster, parked cars are coated with smoothness until they become great white round mounds:

Buried Cars, 2006, photo by Fred Hatt

Snowdrift Car, 2006, photo by Fred Hatt

Other objects are transformed, like this concrete cherub (a popular decoration in my Italian neighborhood):

Snowcapped Cherub, 2005, photo by Fred Hatt

In the heaviest blizzards, like the one we had in 2003, snowfall penetrates even the subway system, drifting down the stairs and through the vents in the sidewalk:

Subway Stairs, 2003, photo by Fred Hatt

Subway Drift, 2003, photo by Fred Hatt

The snow seems to capture particles of diesel exhaust and other things floating in the air, and as it melts off peoples’ shoes the subway tiles get coated with an oily grunge:

Snow Pile in Subway, 2003, photo by Fred Hatt

Snowplows clearing the streets pile the snow up into huge mountains, packing in parked cars and creating pedestrian barriers that have to be scaled:

Wall of Snow, 2003, photo by Fred Hatt

Storm drains are clogged and gutters and crosswalks become lakes of dirty slush:

Slush Pallet, 2003, photo by Fred Hatt

Within a day, New York City snow is gray and filthy.  Hardened chunks remain even as shoveling, plowing and relentless traffic clear the routes:

Dirty Snow, 2007, photo by Fred Hatt

The high piled-up mounds can last for weeks, even through warm weather, becoming nastier day by day.  I’m sure this is what our lungs look like from breathing urban air:

Filthy Snow, 2003, photo by Fred Hatt

As the ice retreats, the salt and other residues leave sedimentary markings on the sidewalk:

Snow Residue, 2008, photo by Fred Hatt

And when the sun comes out, melting snow rains down from the buildings and construction sheds, glittering like gems in the sunlight:

Snowmelt, 2003, photo by Fred Hatt