As has become a tradition since being brought back in 2016, discarded Christmas trees were gathered at Riverhead beach for the Epiphany tree burning. I showed up early and watched as the pile very slowly caught flare after several days of rain and a last minute change to more picturesque snow. Once the pile was properly engulfed, I got to work trying to capture new compositions from across the street and closer up. Here are my three favorites from the night.
A fun start to the New Year with a fortunate capture during the annual Epiphany tree burning. I normally post first thing in the morning but this seemed more fitting as an evening share... I have shot the Christmas tree bonfire from almost every angle over the past few years since its resumption - slightly above from the Neck Run Cafe, across the water from Red Steps off Cliff Street and way above with my drone. I hadn't yet shot from across the causeway and so that was my destination on Thursday, January 6. I arrived to my spot before [...]
The annual Epiphany tree burning takes place tonight (Monday, January 6) at 6:30pm at Riverhead Beach. The town has been collecting Christmas trees for the past two weeks and piling them at Riverhead for this annual bonfire tradition. Watching trees burn raises a number of environmental concerns but, interestingly, the bonfire is far preferable to placing them in a landfill and is pretty much net carbon neutral according to The Carbon Trust: For a 2 metre tall real Christmas tree, with no roots, the carbon footprint is 16kg CO2e if it ends up in landfill. This is because the tree [...]
Last night, the annual Epiphany tree burning took place with collected Christmas trees arranged in a pile at Riverhead Beach and set aflame with flares to create a massive Epiphany bonfire. I brought my kids with me and we separated while they watched and I searched for new vantage points to shoot the huge flames and gathered crowd. I tried walking over to the causeway but the 20 mph winds were throwing smoke and embers in that direction so I had to come up with a plan B. I shot a few frames as well as a short video from [...]
Tonight's epiphany bonfire in the falling snow couldn't have been more magical and I almost gave up on shooting it... I made it home from work a little after 5 and had enough time to change and drop off my son at basketball practice before heading to Riverhead beach and the annual (though belated) epiphany bonfire. I arrived as the first flames rose from the pile of Christmas trees and turned into the Devereux parking lot only to find far more parked cars and far less room than I expected. I turned into what appeared to be the last open [...]
We moved to Marblehead in 2008 and did not get to experience the Epiphany tree burning until this annual tradition returned a few years ago. The image of hundreds of Christmas trees being set aflame on January 6th with hundreds of people gathered around was awe inspiring and I've tried to capture it from various angles over the years. This image comes from the 2017 Epiphany tree burning which I chose to view and capture from Redsteps on the corner of Cliff and Chestnut streets. The 2018 tree burning has been postponed due to arctic cold and thus will take [...]
For the second year in a row, the town of Marblehead gathered its Christmas trees onto Riverhead Beach and set them ablaze in the tradition of the Epiphany bonfire. This annual tradition took place for years until the new causeway was built and then was put on hiatus until its resumption last year. That was the first time I had the pleasure of witnessing the massive bonfire of Christmas trees with families gathered to witness the beautiful sight. With a new Phantom 4 Pro in hand, I decided to capture this year's Epiphany bonfire from the air. I set off [...]
We moved to Marblehead in May 2008 just as the causeway was being re-built and, as such, had never witnessed the annual Christmas Tree bonfire tradition. On January 6, the tradition was resumed and I was awed by the site of the incredible bonfire and, even more, the gathered crowd reflected in the flame light. Here is #8 in my Top 10 of 2016 countdown - make sure you visit Riverhead Beach on Friday, January 6 for the 2017 edition of the bonfire.
The Christmas tree bonfire took place tonight on Riverhead Beach in a return of a long-standing tradition. The bonfire was an annual event that took place on Epiphany but was stopped when the new causeway was built. As it happened, the last bonfire took place immediately before we moved to Marblehead and I had never had a chance to witness (or photograph) the tradition. With that in mind, and as this year's bonfire happened to fall on a Wednesday, I was all set to capture an image of hundreds of trees set aflame. I started shooting above the crowd but [...]