So this has to be one of my favorite trees in Marblehead. There is something about the odd bend in it and its location on the edge of the ocean that makes it instantly appealing. I had struggled with compositions to highlight those characteristics until January 2012 when some great clouds rolled around. As I made my way around town photographing various scenes, I drove along Beacon Street and spotted the tree against the backdrop of those clouds. I pulled over and put on my longest lens to make sure I could get the tree as the focal point of the image.
One technical issue faced me – the neutral density filter I use is too large for this particular lens. Rather than being able to thread it on the lens front and shoot, I had to hand hold it in front of the lens during the entire exposure…and not move…and did I mention it was early January??? Needless to say, with successive 15+ second exposures, I felt for sure my fingers would be purple (or black) by the time I was finished. Thankfully some time in front of the car heater did the trick and the image turned out as hoped.
I’ll have to figure out a way onto this property at the end of Crowninshield Road to get a close up view and image of the bent tree.