Marblehead on the Fourth of July

Marblehead Fourth of July

The coastal town of Marblehead, MA has some unique traditions, one of which is 4th of July.  As it has one of the best harbors in New England, much of the life of the town centers on the harbor and the many ships that reside there in the spring and summer.  So, it's only natural that the 4th of July celebration would also center there.  Fireworks are shot from a barge at the mouth of the harbor, with thousands of people lining up from Fort Sewall, down through Crocker Park, to the Causeway and then back up the Neck on the other side of the harbor.  Preparation for fireworks in this town involves a great deal of cannon fire, because you always need to find an excuse so that you can shoot off cannons.

I was sitting at the edge of Fort Sewall with a view of the mouth of the harbor across to Chandler Hovey Park on the other side.  This shot was one of the first fireworks of the night and the sun had just gone down a short time before and so the residual from the sun still gave a dark blue glow to the sky. We were treated to displays such as this with Marblehead Light in the background.  Unfortunately, a strong thunderstorm swept across the North Shore and cut the display short while we all ran for cover.

To end, I thought I would try something a little different.  Fireworks in black and white.  This is across the harbor at one of the yacht clubs.  Let me know what you think of this treatment.

These pictures, like all the others in this blog, can be purchased.  There is a limited size of prints available if you press the 'Buy Print' button directly below each picture.  If you click on the picture it will take you to my SmugMug site where a much more extensive selection of print options are available.  Everything from standard prints in a large number of sizes to canvas and metal prints ready for hanging on a wall.