By Johna Till Johnson
Berries in the snow
Bright hopeful against the cold
How long will they last?
By Johna Till Johnson
Berries in the snow
Bright hopeful against the cold
How long will they last?
By Johna Till Johnson
The new year has begun, and with it, winter.
Somehow I’m never completely expecting the seasons when they finally arrive. On a sweaty day in July I truly can’t believe the ground will ever be covered in snow again… and yet, predictably, it is.
The beauty is no less delightful for its predictability. In fact, quite the opposite: each new snowfall is both like and unlike all other snowfalls.
Vlad used to say he never got bored, even paddling the same route over and over again. I believe this is partially what he meant: On a familiar route, you can appreciate both the familiar and the new.
May 2018 be full of both anticipated and unanticipated beauty. And may we appreciate it all!
Posted in Life, Nature, New York City, Photography
Tagged New York City, Snow, Washington Square Park, Winter
By Johna Till Johnson

Snow beside the East River, late winter 2017
Bent necks, leaning
Towards the East River
What are they listening
For?
By Vladimir Brezina
A rainbow of colors keeping the winter gloom at bay…
A contribution to this week’s Photo Challenge, Vibrant.
Posted in New York City, Photography
Tagged New York City, Photography, postaweek, postaweek2016, Sledding, Snow, Vibrant, Weekly Photo Challenge
By Johna Till Johnson
Flow on, river! flow with the flood-tide, and ebb with the ebb-tide!
Frolic on, crested and scallop-edg’d waves!
Gorgeous clouds of the sun-set! drench with your splendor me, or the men and women generations after me!
Walt Whitman, Crossing Brooklyn Ferry
This is quite possibly my favorite poem ever. I once memorized part of it to recite for Vlad’s birthday. It always gives me shivers, in part because Whitman was, literally, talking directly to us, “men and women generations after me”.
But this past February, there weren’t many “crested and scallop-edg’d waves”—only acres of ice floes, bobbing sluggishly in the current. It’s hard to believe that lively, open water will return–but spring is less than a month away!
Ice floes have their own bleak beauty, though, especially during a snowstorm. I recently took a walk along the East River and up alongside the Harlem River. This is what I saw (click any photo to start slideshow):
Posted in Life, Nature, New York City
Tagged East River, Harlem River, Ice, New York City, Snow, Walt Whitman
By Vladimir Brezina
Seasonally appropriate: sunny days after the big snowstorm in NYC’s Central Park—






(More photos are here, here, and here)
A contribution to this week’s Photo Challenge, Shadowed. A second contribution is here.
Posted in Nature, New York City, Photography
Tagged Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, Photography, postaweek, postaweek2015, Shadowed, Shadows, Snow, Weekly Photo Challenge, Winter
By Vladimir Brezina
Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge this week is Pink.
In NYC’s Central Park not so long ago, pink was an artificial color.
But very soon now, it will grow on every tree—
These photos were taken in April 2013. Hopefully, a preview of coming attractions!
Another classic NYC event, later on in June, at which pink is surely the ruling color is here.
Posted in Nature, New York City, Photography
Tagged Central Park, New York City, Photography, Pink, postaweek, postaweek2014, Snow, Spring, Spring Blossoms, Travel, Weekly Photo Challenge
Posted in Nature, New York City
Tagged Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, Photography, Snow, Winter
By Vladimir Brezina
NYC’s Central Park, during yesterday’s snowstorm…
(click on any photo to start slideshow)
Posted in Nature, New York City
Tagged Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, Photography, Snow, Snow Storm
By Vladimir Brezina
A few photos I managed to capture on Saturday in Manhattan’s Central Park before my fingers started freezing—
(click on any photo to start slideshow)
Posted in Nature, New York City
Tagged Central Park, Ice, Manhattan, New York City, Photography, Snow, Winter