A photographer friend of mine recently commented that New Years doesn’t begin at midnight for us…it starts with the first sunrise.  And so, while most were just waking up to the new year, I headed out in the predawn hours for St. Michael’s church and a trip to the top of the steeple.  I had made some plans a few days earlier to meet Steve Clay and Ed Nilsson at the church and capture this first sunrise of 2016 from this unique vantage point.

As a quick aside, I had welcomed 2012 with a sunrise shoot atop Old North Church and had wanted to make that a tradition soon after that incredible experience.  With that in mind, I met Steve at St. Michaels on January 1, 2013 but had to settle for a shot out of a lower window when the way to the top was blocked (this was before the new steeple was raised).  I settled for sunset shots in 2014 and 2015 and was thrilled to have another chance at a sunrise from above the rooftops to start 2016.

I ended up with 6 solid images from this early morning outing even though the sun never broke through the cloud layer.  This one of a shining star on a crane seeming to hang over Marblehead Neck and balance the green beacon of Marblehead Light was a favorite.

Thanks for a great start to 2016 with over 300 shares of my annual year end slideshow.  Here’s to a productive 2016 and many more images of this beautiful town.