I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I had gone out at dawn to capture images of Doliber Cove specifically because a storm was forecast for later that day.  A coming storm usually signals good light at dawn as in the old adage ‘red sky in morning, sailor take warning’.  As it turns out, the coming storm would bring some incredible purple light with it later that evening…

I had gone out again on the night of July 1 to participate in the Marblehead Festival of Arts Awards Night ceremony at Abbot Hall.  Since the full moon was due to rise that night, I brought my camera with me and headed down to Crocker Park after the festivities.  There I positioned myself to capture the moonrise but, as I waited, a red glow developed on the houses on Marblehead Neck.  I couldn’t figure out where the intense color was coming from until it dawned on my to look behind me!

This was the scene I found looking out from Crocker Park toward Abbot Hall.  The coming storm was casting a pink hue at the horizon and purple light in the clouds.  It was an incredible sight to behold and I quickly ran up to this familiar spot from which to capture the beautiful light.  I tried a few compositions from this spot but liked this one best as I have never featured the full view of houses, Abbot Hall tower and the new steeple atop St. Michaels church from this vantage point.  The view also allowed me to include the pink hues and purple light on the clouds of the coming storm.

Shortly after taking these images, I returned to my spot near the water to capture the full moon.  I then checked my radar and realized the coming storm was headed straight for Marblehead and ran to the car just in time to avoid getting drenched by rain.