Judge’s Award – Marblehead Arts Association Summer Member Exhibit June 2013
On Monday, May 6th, I arrived home and noted that fog was starting to roll in. I decided to grab the kids and my camera and head out in hopes of capturing the unique beauty of foggy scenes. We started off on Parker Lane – me with my camera, they with an old dSLR. The fog would thicken to the point of hiding the distant mainland and the sun at times and then quickly dissipate revealing the shores again.
From there we drove up to Chandler Hovey Park and photographed a bit more. The fog seemed to be receding for good and I decided to head back home at 7pm. On the way back, I made a turn at the Eastern Yacht Club on a whim. As I made the turn onto Foster Street, I could not believe what lay before me. Not only had the fog returned, but the sun was positioned directly over Abbot Hall and was sending rays of light cascading around the tower and backlighting the fog!
I quickly parked and ran down to find an angle from which to shoot. I had my 24-105 lens on the camera and realized it just wasn’t long enough. I made a mad dash back to the car to change lenses and ran back down to get this image before the fog dissipated again and the sun changed its angle. I came away hoping that the image turned out half as good as the scene I had witnessed knowing that if it did, it would easily cement its place in my top 10 favorite images of Marblehead.
At home, I processed the image trying to bring out details in the homes along the shore and the boats in the harbor while keeping the brightness of the light from overpowering the scene. I again fought with color vs black and white and decided to go with a color image this time around.
As I finished working on this image, I realized the Town Meeting had begun and ended up having to watch it on TV. As I turned on the TV, I realized the measure to restore Abbot Hall Tower was next on the warrant and I listened to Bette Hunt recount the construction of this iconic building. The vote to restore Abbot Hall Tower was unanimously in favor and I took that as a good omen for my photo as well.
Update June 2013
This image won a Judge’s Award in Photography at the Marblehead Arts Association. I received an incredible critique from the judge and was granted permission to copy it here:
‘If a view of geography does not imply something more enduring than a specific piece of terrain, then the picture will only hold us briefly.’ – Robert Adams. Endless photographs of Abbot Hall dull our appreciation of the majestic landmark sitting atop our town. Here the magic returns. An understanding of light and atmosphere, technical proficiency, patience, and persistence, along with a sharp eye, give life to this old stack of bricks.
