4th of July Salem Mass

This was taken a while ago on a cold July 4th, Yes a cold July 4th. I got my spot early in the afternoon and I staked out my spot where I thought the... more

by Jeff Folger

Title

4th of July Salem Mass

Artist

Jeff Folger

Medium

Photograph - Art Creations

Description

This was taken a while ago on a cold July 4th, Yes a cold July 4th. I got my spot early in the afternoon and I staked out my spot where I thought the fireworks would be the best to get the fireworks over the Friendship of Salem.
Salem has a long Maritime heritage extending back to the mid-1600s She came into her golden age of trade with ships like the one you see in the above picture. The original Friendship of Salem was built in 1797 and for her first voyage, she sailed for Batavia, which is today known as Jakarta. Her rich cargo was made oup of Tea, Coffee and sweetmeats. The tax on this one single voyage was $18,376.00. This is in an age when your yearly salary was maybe $30-$50 for the year!

I set up my chair between Hatches Wharf and Central Wharf and I figured that this would put the fireworks directly over the ship... I think I got that about right. The only problem is that if you want to go out this year, you'll have to find a different aspect to shoot from. You see the Friendship has been in dry dock since July 5th, 2016. She will hopefully be back this winter, but it will be a year till they get the rigging up. Let's cross our fingers for next years Fireworks.

People start marking their spots by 9AM and the crowds start by 1-2PM. By 8PM, it's almost standing room only.

Uploaded

June 18th, 2018