Yesterday offered picture perfect conditions in Marblehead with about an inch of snow sticking to every branch and partly cloudy skies. It was a perfect day to explore Marblehead on a Wednesday and yet, I had to work (covering for a colleague). I actually drove home from my Salem office at lunch to grab my camera in the hopes of catching the moonrise but arrived at my chosen spot too late for the shot I had in mind.

As a trade off for having to cover Wednesday, I had today free and so I got up a bit early and headed to Harvard Street with a particular shot in mind for this Thursday in Marblehead.

I had checked the location for the setting cold moon and decided that Harvard Street offered the best vantage point for capturing the moonset between Grace Community Church and the star suspended from a crane over The Landing. I had actually set up in this exact location for the cold moon in 2016 and 2018 but this was the first time I had the opportunity to capture snow on the roofs and I lucked out with the lighting.

With the timing of the moonset relative to sunrise, I think this year’s version of the cold moon setting over State Street is my favorite one yet.  It goes to show that the same composition shot from the same location year after year does change quite a bit and offers almost endless possibilities for the final image.  I found another really cool scene while waiting for the moon to drop and will share that one next week.