I continue to explore frames captured on New Year's day from the top of Old North Church and wanted to share this one with you today. This was taken very shortly after a landscape view that included the lighthouse. In this portrait orientation, the houses and road become the focus rather than the other's all-encompassing scene. I love how the road leads the eye past one and two hundred year old houses to Little Harbor in the distance.
This view From the Rooftops comes from the rental property on Washington Street. As I waited for the sun to get into the proper position for this image, I looked around and found this view of Grace Community Church towering over nearby houses. The houses appear to be stacked on top of each other and the angles of their roofs offer an amazing array of lines leading the eye around the scene. If you have or know of any rooftop decks in Marblehead that I can shoot from, please use the contact form in the About Me page. Thanks!
The new year began for me on the top of Old North Church. Once we made our way onto a balcony outside of the bell tower, I noted these decorative posts dotting the balcony. The view reminded me of one seen from Notre Dame of gargoyles watching down over the city with the Eiffel tower in the distance. Seeing Abbot Hall in the far right edge of the scene cemented that image and I sought to capture the image with that in mind. I took another set of pictures without the post but preferred this composition.
As many of you know, I was fortunate to start the new year perched near the top of the Old North Church shooting the first sun rise of the year. As excited as I was to capture a sunrise from this vantage point, I was even more excited for a fresh crop of 'from the rooftops' images. I consider this one of the trifecta of ultimate rooftops on my list (the others being Marblehead Lighthouse and the very top of Abbot Tower). After capturing the sun rising above the neck, I turned my attention to the beauty of Washington street [...]
I have had my eye on a particular rooftop since before this project began. It belongs to the apartment on 128 Washington Street and I had tried to contact the tenants there on a few occasions to see about shooting from this vantage point. I had nearly given up until I walked into Shipshape one day and was informed by the owner that the apartment was currently vacant. I quickly phoned Gerald Kaplan who was renting the space and we arranged to meet near sunset. The view, as you can see, was clearly worth the wait. I spent an hour [...]
In the middle of September, I visited Old Town House and the GAR museum. It was a particularly warm day and they had the back door opened to bring in what breeze might come. I asked if I could peak out the back and found this scene before me. It was almost noon yet the sun was at a bit of an angle allowing for the great shadow and reflect light off the windows. This vantage point offers a great view of The Bus Stop and its next door neighbor (which is further reflected in the near window). These moments [...]
At the end of November, I visited Betty Breuhaus at her office on the third floor of the building that houses Mud Puddle Toys. I had the crazy idea to try to shoot from the roof of the building but that plan didn't quite make it to fruition. Instead, I peeked out one of Betty's windows and saw this amazing view below. The sun was setting early and there were just enough clouds to diffuse the light from the setting sun. I grabbed this shot after patiently waiting for pedestrians and cars to pass. I have to say that it [...]
Thursday means another entry in the 'from the rooftops' series. We return to the old fire tower at the Marblehead Little Theater. I had the opportunity to photograph from there during the renovations and tried to make the most of my brief time at the top. Here is the view looking toward School and Pleasant streets. I liked the brick facade in the foreground and the series of houses seen in the distance. If you, or anyone you know, has a rooftop deck, I would love to hear from you. In exchange for allowing me to photograph from there, I [...]
On this Thanksgiving day, I am thankful for the comments (both on the site and by email) that have shown me how much my photos are appreciated. I am also thankful for the incredible opportunities that this project has given me such as the one leading to today's From the Rooftop photo. In late September/early October, the Marblehead Little Theater was completing its planned renovation of the old firehouse tower. One day as I was shooting around town, I looked up and noted that most of the windows had the plywood removed and were open. After emailing the wonderful people [...]
I started the rooftop project in late August and this was one of the first private homes that I was invited to shoot from. The owners had responded to a flyer I addressed to them and were more than happy to share this view from their Lee street home with fellow Marbleheaders. I have to admit being overwhelmed when I first stood on this roof and tried to take in the sites below. The vantage point was perfect with neat houses that have stood in these spots for 200 years. The harbor was filled with boats and you can make [...]