Rooftop Thursday brings this view of St Michael's Episcopal Church and Grace Community Church gracing the skyline of Old Town. This was taken from the rooftop deck of an apartment on Washington Street that offered tremendous views up and down that great street as well as of these two houses of worship.
This image was taken in the first week of November when I noted the nice light of sunset and made my way to the back parking lot of the YMCA and tried to find a vantage point unobstructed by trees. I had taken a similar shot almost exactly one year earlier facing towards Salem but that view was obstructed due to tree growth. I chose this view to approximate my rooftop ones and show the houses around Leggs Hill Road.
Here is another view from the apartment with a balcony on Washington Street. As I mentioned once before, this was the place that started the Rooftop series...though I didn't realize it at the time. I remember walking down Summer street one day and seeing this rooftop deck in front of me. It took more than six months before I ended up there with a camera in hand and the view did not disappoint. My 'Peeling Paint' photo is one of the rooftop series that are on display this month at the Hooper mansion. Opening reception is this Sunday from 2-4pm.
I hope you are not tiring of these rooftop views courtesy of the Old North Church. I had such an incredible time that morning and get to relive it each time I share another image from that adventure. When Rhod and I first ventured up before sunrise, we went straight to the cupola and found that the windows had frosted overnight. This was almost the end to our outing but Rhod managed a MacGyver-esque save that got us an even better view. While he worked with a flashlight and scissors a floor below, I got to work shooting the interior [...]
Back to Old North Church for another view of the sunrise from the rooftops. This is one of a series of images taken on January 1st, 2012 as I welcomed the new year with Rhod Sharp on the cupola of the Old North Church. I've shown views looking down Washington Street towards Little Harbor, Gerry Island and the Lighthouse previously. This one looks back up toward Old Town and Abbot Hall. The architecture of these old houses makes it easy for the eye to slowly walk up the street toward Abbot Hall in the distance.
So technically this was a From the Second-Floor Bathroom rather than a Rooftop view but it was above the ground and too good to not share. As you may remember, I was fortunate to be invited to The Terraces for a rooftop view. After taking that photo, I checked other rooms and found this view looking back up the street in a bathroom. I set up the tripod over the toilet and somehow managed to get everything lined up just right. The hard part was processing this image as there were numerous power lines crossing in front of the house. [...]
I posted a wider view from this rooftop location a while ago but wanted to revisit the spot to showcase this particular image. If you compare the two, you'll appreciate the difference that a different focal length can bring to a scene. By zooming in for this tighter view, the peeling paint in the foreground and the architecture of the rooftops become the focal point of the image. It's amazing to see the variety of chimneys up here and follow all of the lines through the photo. This image (and many more) will be shown at my individual exhibit at [...]
I continue to explore frames captured on New Year's day from the top of Old North Church and wanted to share this one with you today. This was taken very shortly after a landscape view that included the lighthouse. In this portrait orientation, the houses and road become the focus rather than the other's all-encompassing scene. I love how the road leads the eye past one and two hundred year old houses to Little Harbor in the distance.
This view From the Rooftops comes from the rental property on Washington Street. As I waited for the sun to get into the proper position for this image, I looked around and found this view of Grace Community Church towering over nearby houses. The houses appear to be stacked on top of each other and the angles of their roofs offer an amazing array of lines leading the eye around the scene. If you have or know of any rooftop decks in Marblehead that I can shoot from, please use the contact form in the About Me page. Thanks!
The new year began for me on the top of Old North Church. Once we made our way onto a balcony outside of the bell tower, I noted these decorative posts dotting the balcony. The view reminded me of one seen from Notre Dame of gargoyles watching down over the city with the Eiffel tower in the distance. Seeing Abbot Hall in the far right edge of the scene cemented that image and I sought to capture the image with that in mind. I took another set of pictures without the post but preferred this composition.