harbor illumination

Independence Day in Marblehead

I hope no one is tired of images from Independence Day in Marblehead.  Having decided to shoot from the Pleon pier this year, I had almost too many vantage points from which to capture the incredible display.  I shared my favorite shot of fireworks and an image of the harbor illumination but in this image, I was able to capture both (plus an illuminated Marblehead Light as a bonus). As this shot was taken early in the festivities (9:06pm), the flares were still going strong.  You can easily see the bright red glow along the edge of the pier but [...]

By |2017-07-16T20:55:29-04:00July 19th, 2017|Categories: Fireworks|Tags: , , |6 Comments

Lighting up the Eastern Yacht Club during the Harbor Illumination

While the Marblehead fireworks display is an impressive show (and this year's seemed especially awesome), I'm a much bigger fan of the harbor illumination that immediately precedes it.  One of the reasons I decided to shoot from the Pleon this year was its multiple vantage points for capturing the red flares encircling and illuminating Marblehead harbor. As the flares began to glow at 8:45pm, I shot toward Abbot Hall and then worked my way around.  Before long, there appeared a nearly endless display of glowing flares around the Eastern Yacht Club.  With the flares along the pier in the foreground, [...]

By |2017-07-05T20:08:16-04:00July 6th, 2017|Categories: Fireworks|Tags: , , |14 Comments

Marblehead Fireworks and Harbor Illumination

As soon as last night's spectacular fireworks show over Marblehead harbor ended, I rushed home and eagerly looked through images trying to find the biggest and best timed explosion of color.  I was thrilled to find a twin explosion with a leading tail and focused on that image to share with all of you.  The image clearly resonated with many current and former 'Headers as it was well received by those on my various social media pages. It was only today after finishing a day of work that I was able to look more carefully at the images I captured last [...]

By |2016-11-06T12:03:29-05:00July 5th, 2016|Categories: Fireworks|Tags: , , , , |12 Comments

Top 10 of 2015 – Lighting up the Harbor

The Fourth of July is an amazing time of year to spend in Marblehead and is easily my favorite weekend for photographing the town.  The fireworks display often takes center stage but the harbor illumination that takes place beforehand is such a unique and beautiful tradition, that I've made it a point to try to capture it as well. In 2015, I was on Marblehead Neck on July 4th and started off at this spot on Corinthian Lane capturing the flares lighting up the harbor in the last moments of dusk.  Hydrangeas in full bloom made for a perfect foreground with a harbor [...]

By |2016-11-06T12:03:51-05:00December 24th, 2015|Categories: Favorite|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

Harbor Illumination on the Fourth of July

This year's Fourth of July celebration was a whirlwind event during which I participated in my first Artisans Marketplace and learned that I had won Peoples Choice Award in the Festival of Arts Photography exhibit.  With both those events having just taken place, I rode my bicycle onto Marblehead Neck in the hopes of capturing images of the annual harbor illumination as well as the Marblehead fireworks display.  I've shared a few images from this night already but finally had the chance to review other images captured that evening and found a few more I would like to share with [...]

By |2016-11-06T12:04:02-05:00July 13th, 2015|Categories: Fireworks|Tags: , , , , , , |0 Comments

Lighting up the Harbor

Before a single firework is shot into the sky, Marblehead showcases its unique tradition of lighting up the harbor with flares.  I've photographed the view of red flares encircling Marblehead Harbor from the mainland each of the past few years but haven't had the chance to capture them from Marblehead Neck. On this Fourth of July, we had been invited out to the Neck for an Independence Day party and, as sunset passed, I excused myself and headed down to Corinthian Lane.  I found a familiar patch of hydrangea bushes and composed this scene.  Just before 8:45pm, the red flares [...]

By |2015-07-05T21:22:57-04:00July 6th, 2015|Categories: Fireworks|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

Amateur Fireworks over Marblehead Harbor

As I mentioned before, 2014 was an off year for the annual Marblehead Fireworks display.  The official show was cancelled due to hurricane Arthur but I had set out for the causeway in order to capture the annual harbor illumination.  In years past, I had noticed the amateur fireworks launched from both sides of Marblehead harbor but saw those as a small taste of the real show to come.  This year, it was all we had but that made it all the more special. I spotted fireworks exploding in the space to the right of Abbot Hall and decided to [...]

By |2014-07-06T20:51:05-04:00July 11th, 2014|Categories: Fireworks|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

Marblehead’s Annual Harbor Illumination

Despite the wrench thrown at Marblehead by way of Hurricane Arthur, this was an incredible weekend filled with activities.  Though the annual fireworks display was postponed due to rain and then cancelled due to rough seas, I had decided to make my way to the causeway in order to capture the more unique tradition of the harbor illumination. I had captured the harbor illumination in year's past but always changed my focus as soon as the fireworks show began.  This year, I could concentrate my time and compositions on the red flares circling Marblehead Harbor and forming a beautiful ring [...]

By |2016-11-06T12:04:26-05:00July 7th, 2014|Categories: Fireworks|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

Marblehead Fireworks from Riverhead Beach

The 2014 edition of the Marblehead Fireworks ran into a major obstacle as a hurricane formed and arrived on Friday, July 4.  With a rain date of Saturday, July 5th, it seemed the show would go on.  Unfortunately, the hurricane left rough seas in its wake and the barge operator called off the show owing to dangerous conditions in transporting the fireworks. As disappointed as I was not to be able to capture the fireworks this year (I had a good spot planned out), I decided to head out and focus my efforts on the unique Marblehead tradition of the [...]

By |2014-07-06T22:58:00-04:00July 5th, 2014|Categories: Fireworks|Tags: , , |0 Comments

Harbor Illumination

A gigapixel view of the Marblehead Harbor Illumination iPhone/iPad users - click the grey title bar for an iPhone friendly version (pinch to zoom that one). Before the fireworks began, I had another image in mind and carefully setup to try to achieve what you see above. I photographed the Marblehead harbor illumination at a focal length of 105mm (approximately 4x zoom equivalent) using 28 vertical images. The combined image is a staggering 325 megapixels. I then uploaded it to Gigapan and embedded their viewer above. By using the controls, you can zoom in as far as you want and [...]

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