July 4th Archives - Wednesdays in Marblehead

Abbot over the Flares – Annual Harbor Illumination

Fireworks are used to celebrate Independence Day in just about every town in the United States but the annual harbor illumination makes Marblehead a truly unique spot to celebrate the birth of this country. I had decided to shoot the show from the causeway this year in large part because it offered some new vantage points for capturing the red flares encircling the harbor. At 8:45pm the red lights began to glow and hit their peak at 9:00pm. I was able to capture images of Marblehead Light, Fort Sewall, and this one of Abbot Hall standing tall over the flares [...]

By Eyal Oren|2018-07-05T20:46:15+00:00July 6th, 2018|Categories: Fireworks|Tags: Abbot Hall, harbor illumination, July 4th|0 Comments

Marblehead Fireworks from the Causeway

I had grand plans for this year's Marblehead fireworks show and spent a week planning and prepping for the show. I had received a waiver from the FAA for flying at night and planned to try to shoot the show from the air with a backup plan to have my real camera on the ground. Good thing I had a backup plan... So to prep for using the drone, I visited the causeway at night to practice flying and focusing as well as figure out settings. I also practiced launching and catching the drone by hand to make I could [...]

By Eyal Oren|2018-07-04T22:41:44+00:00July 4th, 2018|Categories: Fireworks|Tags: boats, fireworks, July 4th, Marblehead Harbor|1 Comment

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 Eyal Oren|2017-07-16T20:55:29+00:00July 19th, 2017|Categories: Fireworks|Tags: fireworks, harbor illumination, July 4th|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 Eyal Oren|2017-07-05T20:08:16+00:00July 6th, 2017|Categories: Fireworks|Tags: Eastern Yacht Club, harbor illumination, July 4th|14 Comments

Marblehead Concerts at Crocker Park

One of the best parts of the annual Marblehead Festival of Arts is the concert series that takes place each day in Crocker Park. Beginning Friday before sunset, this year's Concerts at Crocker Park kicks off with jazz. The music continues day and night throughout the Fourth of July weekend. Last year, I was fortunate to be at Crocker Park enjoying the music with my family when the sky exploded in a brilliant pink and purple sunset. I captured familiar compositions including the view of Abbot Hall from the park but also climbed up behind the stage to photograph the band during [...]

By Eyal Oren|2016-06-27T22:04:14+00:00June 30th, 2016|Categories: Park|Tags: Crocker park, July 4th, sunset|0 Comments

Marblehead Fireworks – The Grand Finale

There's a danger in looking at images and sharing them too quickly after an event. On the Fourth of July, I raced home from Marblehead Neck on my bicycle passing bumper to bumper traffic on the causeway. As soon as I walked in the door, I plugged my camera's memory card in and hoped that some of the Marblehead fireworks images came out as nice as I remembered them. I scanned the images quickly and selected three different views of the evening's great show. It was only this weekend, when I had time to carefully review the images from the [...]

By Eyal Oren|2016-11-06T12:04:02+00:00July 15th, 2015|Categories: Fireworks|Tags: Chandler Hovey park, fireworks, July 4th, lighthouse|2 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 Eyal Oren|2016-11-06T12:04:02+00:00July 13th, 2015|Categories: Fireworks|Tags: beach, Cove Lane, fireworks, harbor illumination, July 4th, lighthouse, people|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 Eyal Oren|2015-07-05T21:22:57+00:00July 6th, 2015|Categories: Fireworks|Tags: boats, flowers, harbor illumination, July 4th, Marblehead Harbor, Marblehead Neck|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 Eyal Oren|2016-11-06T12:04:26+00:00July 7th, 2014|Categories: Fireworks|Tags: causeway, harbor illumination, July 4th, Riverhead beach|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 [...]

By Eyal Oren|2016-11-06T12:06:14+00:00July 6th, 2012|Categories: Fireworks|Tags: fireworks, full moon, harbor illumination, July 4th, lighthouse, Marblehead Harbor, panorama|2 Comments