When it came time to decide on my top 10 images of 2017, I found myself eyeing several recent images for inclusion and ended up with 4 of the top 10 having been taken in December. I can’t decide if that is due to some bias on my end to favor photos taken recently and thereby still holding strong memories of the shoot or a unique effect this year with some truly picture perfect conditions.
For #7, I decided on this photos of a truly perfect morning at Redd’s Pond. I’ve captured Redd’s partially frozen before but never with such an interesting texture to the frozen section and perfect placement of the unfrozen water to reflect Pond View across the way. The cloud cover at sunrise added a needed element to the sky and made this photo tough to not include in the top 10 list.
My original thoughts on this image:
As I went to bed on Saturday night, I looked out the window and noted the freshly fallen snow was sticking firmly to the tree branches with very little wind that might ruin the effect by morning. With that in mind, I set an alarm hoping for a few snow-filled scenes to shoot on what promised to be a perfect morning.
I was out of the house by 6:30am and headed straight to Little Harbor to see what the Peach’s boat looked like with some snow atop the small Christmas tree. The view did not disappoint and I shot a lot of frames as the small boat floated in the first light of dawn. I waited until the sun came up and painted the ocean in hues of gold before taking off for Beacon Street. From there, I shot Brown’s Island and then circled over to Grace Oliver Beach. With those scenes captured, I headed over to Redd’s Pond and hoped the cloud cover might be me some time before the sun would overpower the scene.
I arrived at Redd’s and my jaw dropped. The cold temperatures and still conditions created a perfect display of partially frozen water with a break in the most perfect position to reflect the iconic red house across the water. Rockport can have their Motif #1, I’ll take Pond View at Redd’s any day. And with freshly fallen snow clinging to the trees and ground as well as those clouds overhead diffusing and reflecting the light of sunrise? Just about the perfect morning in Marblehead if you ask me.