I didn’t have high hopes for tonight’s Harvest Moon and am very glad that my expectations were proven very, very wrong. I had scouted out the projected rise of the full moon and decided to shoot from Lovis Cove but had found little motivation as 5:30pm rolled around and I lay on our newly delivered (and far too comfortable couch). With an effort of will, I gathered my bag, tripod and was out the door.
I showed up 15 minutes early and set up near the Barnacle where I was surprised (and flattered) to meet three fans/followers in a span of 10 minutes. I continued to scan the horizon until spotting the nearly full Harvest Moon rising behind the low lying haze. I watched and waited as the moon rose higher in the evening sky and glowed brightly above boats moored near the mouth of the harbor.
As I fired off a few shots, a boat crossed into this composition and added a needed element to the empty space between moored boats. As a bonus, a sailboat can also be spotted past the edge of Chandler Hovey Park. With the perfect evening colors in the sky and the collection of boats in front of Marblehead Light, I was thrilled with the final image.
It was only when I arrived home and could zoom in that I saw the name of the sailboat that had come into harbor – Expect. Given my low expectations only an hour previously, I really couldn’t have asked for a better boat to come into this frame.