Five years after moving to Marblehead in 2008, I stumbled upon the three cherry blossom trees at the Harris Street Cemetery. I’ve gone back each year to capture them in full bloom and, despite the small space, am thrilled to keep finding new compositions as the blooms and light change slightly each spring.

This was the earliest I had ever captured the cherry blossoms in full bloom (in 2013 they didn’t reach peak until April 21st!).   However, with this year’s mild winter and spring, it wasn’t a surprise to find the trees had reached peak on April 6, 2020. This was my third visit to the cemetery with the first less than a week earlier when I was fortunate to capture a few snowflakes falling.

On this later afternoon (6pm) visit, I had perfect light for the shot I had envisioned and crouched low to hide the parked cars just over the wall while trying to get the sun partly obstructed by a tree branch. With a very small aperture (f/22) and partial obstruction, I was able to capture a sun star to add a bit of a dynamic glow to the scene.

If you haven’t visited Harris Street yet, make sure you wander down this street soon and enjoy the beauty of the cherry blossoms. Just make sure you stay at least 6 feet apart from others doing the same.