Wednesdays in Marblehead

Top 10 of 2019 – #6 – Sunset Skate

I went out a few nights ago as Redd's Pond had frozen and skaters were enjoying the timeless joy of skating on the frozen water. I had hopes of capturing a similar scene to this one taken on February 1, 2019 but the light never quite matched the one in this shot. I had a hard time deciding whether to include this image because of the foreground element. I did a bit of research and learned about these 'pond stars' which are formed when snow covers a thin ice layer. My wife thought it looked too ominous against the backdrop [...]

By Eyal Oren|2019-12-24T12:51:28-05:00December 26th, 2019|Categories: Favorite|Tags: favorite, frozen, Redd's pond|0 Comments

Sunset Skate – brief break from hiatus

This might be the longest stretch that I have gone without taking a photo of Marblehead in almost ten years. I had influenza for the first time in my life and finally appreciated just how awful that virus can be. We all receive the vaccine annually and, while it is nowhere near 100% effective, my wife and daughter did not get the flu so that was a small win. It took longer than expected to recover from that illness and I had absolutely no interest in venturing out during the recent arctic blast so I was content with letting the [...]

By Eyal Oren|2019-02-02T09:05:22-05:00February 2nd, 2019|Categories: Pond|Tags: frozen, ice, people, Redd's pond, sunset|24 Comments

Iced In – Marblehead Harbor

Last winter was marked by nearly three weeks of sub-20F temperatures which led to a frozen Marblehead Harbor. The ice wasn't thick enough to support anyone's weight as it had been during a stretch of the 1970s but the view of ice from Riverhead Beach out past the State Street Landing was impressive. I found the drone to be the best tool to capture the extent of the frozen water and had flown on the morning of January 3rd, 2018 to this spot where two boats appeared to be iced in. The small patches of water helped accentuate the extent [...]

By Eyal Oren|2019-01-06T10:14:39-05:00January 11th, 2019|Categories: Aerial|Tags: aerial, boats, frozen, Marblehead Harbor|11 Comments

Pond Skating in Marblehead

Today's image comes from my 'to-be-posted' archives from January 11, 2015. Many of my favorite images of Redd's come from the month of January when the ice is typically perfect for skating and snow has not yet fallen to affect the surface. I had gone to Redd's on this afternoon to check on conditions and was delighter to find the ice bustling with activity. There were kids and adults skating across the small pond and a pickup hockey game was taking place as well. I decided to set up near the hockey goal and used a slow shutter speed to [...]

By Eyal Oren|2019-01-06T10:09:16-05:00January 10th, 2019|Categories: Pond|Tags: frozen, ice, people, Redd's pond|7 Comments

Spring Thaw at Folger Point and Naugus Head

A Spring thaw is finally upon us with temps possibly hitting 60 degrees today. That thought put me in mind of this aerial image of Folger Point and Naugus Head taken in early January as arctic air froze the waters in Salem Harbor. At the time, I saw the broken ice near the coast as 'not yet frozen'. Now it seems to represent 'already thawed'. Funny how that works...

By Eyal Oren|2018-04-12T21:32:04-04:00April 13th, 2018|Categories: Aerial|Tags: Folger Point, frozen, ice, Naugus Head, Salem harbor|8 Comments

Frozen Marblehead Harbor

As the days (slowly) warm, I didn't want to miss the chance to share images from this arctic winter including the incredible aerial view of a frozen Marblehead harbor. This image was captured in early January after almost two weeks of sub-20 F temperatures led to a nearly complete freeze of the harbor (at least to the BYC/Landing). It never froze enough to support weight as the harbor did in the 70s but the contrast of the iced harbor against the deep blue of the Atlantic ocean on this morning made for a compelling image.

By Eyal Oren|2018-03-25T17:38:49-04:00March 29th, 2018|Categories: Aerial|Tags: aerial, causeway, frozen, Marblehead Harbor|5 Comments

Frozen Harbor at Sunset

The night before a blizzard quite literally exploded over Marblehead, I went out hoping to capture the sight of a nearly frozen harbor. While Salem harbor had frozen over several days ago, Marblehead's own harbor seemed more stubborn in succumbing to the arctic blast. Earlier on this Wednesday, I had made it out to Riverhead Beach and flew my drone over the newly frozen parts of inner harbor and knew that at least part of our harbor had finally frozen. As sunset approached, I headed across the causeway trying to think of a new vantage point having shot from just [...]

By Eyal Oren|2018-01-04T20:55:47-05:00January 5th, 2018|Categories: Marblehead Harbor|Tags: Abbot Hall, frozen, ice, Marblehead Harbor, reflection, sunset|3 Comments

Pancake Ice at Stramski Beach

On Tuesday night I decided to head out to Stramski Beach before sunset hoping to capture images of a frozen Salem harbor only to find picture perfect pancake ice all around me. I spent an hour exploring compositions including the Stramski pier and close ups of the ice. As the sun set and the temperature dipped to single digits, the sky lit up with a beautiful and incredibly long sunset. I shot frame after frame but was immediately drawn to this one with the pier and bare trees framing the scene and the pancake ice reflecting the colors of sunset. [...]

By Eyal Oren|2018-01-03T22:00:11-05:00January 4th, 2018|Categories: Sunset|Tags: frozen, ice, pier, Stramski beach, sunset|14 Comments

Pond Skating on New Years Day

I have had this image of pond skating at Redd's in mind for years and was so thrilled to have finally captured it. In 2010, Vincent Laforet captured an aerial image of skaters at Rockefeller center from a helicopter and what struck me about the shot was the shadows telling the story of what each skater was doing. I considered hiring my own helicopter or plane for a similar image over Redds Pond but that held too many complications and variables. A few years ago, drones came on the market but the early ones had cameras better suited for video [...]

By Eyal Oren|2018-01-01T16:56:40-05:00January 3rd, 2018|Categories: Aerial|Tags: aerial, frozen, ice, people, Phantom 4 Pro, Redd's pond|62 Comments

Goodnight 2017 – Frozen New Years Eve Sunset

This was truly a frozen New Years Eve sunset as I braved an insanely cold wind coming off the frozen harbor to capture my last sunset of 2017. I decided to head out in part to capture the chunks of ice that had formed along this part of the harbor and hoped the clouds would break for a nice sunset to help say 'Goodnight 2017'. I started off shooting around 3:40pm and only lasted 10 minutes before the cold forced me to retreat into the car. Despite dressing warmly in multiple layers, the 20 mph winds (and -15F wind chills) [...]

By Eyal Oren|2017-12-31T17:57:48-05:00December 31st, 2017|Categories: Sunset|Tags: causeway, frozen, ice, sunset, tree|27 Comments