On Friday, October 21st, I drove past this island which sits on the border between Salem and Marblehead in the harbor and noted that it had seemed to reach peak color for the Fall.  I had been scouting this island for years hoping but failing to catch it at its peak last year.  Luckily, I had been carrying my camera gear in my trunk on a daily basis that week and, even more so, I was able to finish up work at 4pm and get back in time for sunset.  I tried a number of angles from different vantage points but finally settled on this view as my favorite.  The small boat anchored just off the island’s shore was the clincher.

I had a very calm evening and thus took this photo as a long exposure (five seconds) to help smooth out the water and bring out the saturation of the colors a bit more.  You can just make out some of the homes on the Marblehead side in the background.