New York City Marble Cemetery, E2nd Street — © Brian Rose

New York got hit by a large snowstorm last night that continued throughout much of the day. It was cold for March, and the snow was drifting. Schools were cancelled–a rare occurrence in this city–and I was obliged to spend the day with my ten-year-old son Brendan.

I decided to go out in the snow with my view camera with Brendan in tow, something we have done many times. I am still adding to my Lower East Side project, so we took a short walk from my Stanton Street apartment/office up Second Avenue. Conditions were difficult at first–wind and blowing snow–with some snow still falling. The photos above and below were made with my Sigma DP1, which I usually carry with me when I go out with the 4×5 camera.

Marble Cemetery — © Brian Rose

At Second Street I turned east and walked opposite the New York City Marble Cemetery, a tree-filled oasis amid the tenements of the Lower East Side. I’d walked by it many time, but never gotten a photograph of it. It is almost always closed to the public. Today, the cemetery’s gardener was cleaning snow from the sidewalk, and he allowed me to enter the gate to take pictures.

Brendan volunteered to help clear snow–the gardener insisted on compensating him $5 for his work–while I navigated around the cemetery in sometimes knee-deep drifts for about an hour. The snow stopped, the wind let up, and I was able to make a half dozen photographs as dusk approached.