Okay so St. Michael's new steeple isn't technically on Washington Street. Ever since it went up, I have wanted to capture an image of the new steeple rising above the shops and houses lining Washington Street. I finally had a chance on Saturday morning under perfect conditions. You can make out the light of dawn reflecting in the windows facing East.
Continuing with Saturday's exploration of historic downtown Marblehead during the Winter parking ban, this is the view of Tucker Street looking up from Hooper Street. I had passed this street a number of times over the Summer and kept thinking it would make for a nice image and new vantage point of Abbot Hall. As I walked around on this morning, I found the light to be just about perfect for finally capturing this image. The title comes from the two versions of the Gadsden flag flying on either side of Tucker Street. Both carry the image of a rattlesnake [...]
With the parking ban in effect and unseasonably warm temperatures, I've wanted to capture images of historic downtown Marblehead for a while now. Unfortunately, the light has been terrible with heavy cloud cover blocking any semblance of light on the streets. Finally on Saturday morning, the weather looked promising and I left the house at 6:00am hoping for the best. This week I plan to share images of historic downtown Marblehead captured on this early morning. My very first stop was this one on the sidewalk in front of Haley's Cafe to capture the intersection of Pleasant and Washington Streets. [...]
As the annual Marblehead Christmas Walk parade came to a close, Santa and Mrs. Claus turned the corner onto Washington Street waving to the gathered crowd. With the unseasonable warm temperatures, the crowd was quite large this year and I decided to focus on Santa as he waved while trying to capture the size of the crowd lined up along Washington Street as well as Abbot Hall in the distance. The final image seemed to capture what is so special about Marblehead and this time of year - a perfect mix of holiday and tradition carried through in the present [...]
The annual Marblehead Christmas walk took place this weekend and, between the parade and Glover's regiment re-enactment of the crossing of the Delaware, I ended up with five images I wanted to share with you. So all of this week will feature images from this year's Marblehead Christmas walk festivities. First up is this image of Glover's regiment marching up State Street. I forgot that the fire department leads the parade in one of their trucks and therefore had to make a last minute change in my plans to capture Glover's regiment marching up State Street. I quickly crossed the street and took [...]
The Winter parking ban is in effect! I might be the only person in town (apart from the snowplow drivers) who actually gets excited about the annual Winter parking ban in Marblehead. I realize it can be a major pain for those who live downtown with little access to parking but, apart from the safety benefits, it allows me to view and capture images of Marblehead that are truly timeless. It's amazing how easily a car or other modern item can cement a scene in a particular decade. During the Winter parking ban, the streets remain devoid of any cars and [...]
For the past 5 years, the Old North Church has resisted all of my attempts to photograph it. While I’ve shot from its cupola, the building is so tall and the street below so tight, that I was never able to capture the full facade of the beautiful structure before without angling the camera upwards and introducing horrible distortions. With Canon's newest super wide lens on loan, I was able to stand across the street and take an image head on capturing the full stature of Old North Church enveloped in clouds. I then wandered up and down Washington Street [...]
St. Michael's new steeple has been in place for less than a year and yet it looks right at home when looked at up close and as part of the skyline. I was out running errands on Wednesday morning and walked along Washington Street and by St. Michael's church when I looked to my right and noted a tree in full bloom. I walked closer to check angles and compositions and was pretty sure this would 'work'. After picking up some framed prints that had been at the Chamber of Commerce (and will be up at West Marine on Saturday [...]
The Nathan Bowen house was built by William Waters in 1695 and is one of fifteen homes in Marblehead built before 1700. The house located on 1 Mugford Street has also been tied to H.P. Lovecraft and is believed to be the home mentioned in his short story 'The Festival'. I had noted that the house featured a beautiful flowering tree but had never managed to capture it in full bloom. On the morning of May 6 (and during the last of my three attempts to capture the scene of Abbot Hall and a flowering tree on Washington Street), I [...]
Can you believe this image of historic downtown from atop Abbot Hall was taken in early December? I can only imagine the view now with snow as far as the eye can see. I continue to feel very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to capture our town from this unique vantage point atop the scaffolding that encircled Abbot Hall during its much needed renovations. This view of historic downtown from atop Abbot Hall features the Jeremiah Lee Mansion, St. Michael's, Grace Community and Old North Church as well as a number of stores along Washington Street.