Friday, November 4, 2011

MAINE - PHOTOWORKSHOP WITH AWAKE THE LIGHT



My very favorite of all my Maine images.
Taken on the Schoodic Peninsula


We just returned from a trip to Maine for a photo workshop with nationally renown photographer, Molly Isaacs and Mary Lindhjem, a wonderful wildlife photographer and instructor.  These two women are exceptional teachers.  They gave us lots of individual attention and we had a great workshop.

Unfortunately, although I was decked out in new rain gear and had even purchased rain gear for my camera, I am not a "let's go shoot in the rain" kind of person.  We had 3 days straight of rain with no promise of let up, so we cut our trip short by a day.  But I learned more about photography, and about my camera in that short week than I have in any other courses I've taken.  If you're interested in seeing their work, please visit Molly's and Mary's  blog at http://awakethelight.blogspot.com/.  They run photo workshops all over the country and it really is worth the trip.


We drove up with Dick doing the driving and me as navigator.  I had mapquest directions given to me by friends who were also going, a GPS, and an ATLAS.  I leave nothing to chance.  I figured that if I could find our way through Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Colorado, I could get us to Maine.  On the way up, we followed our friends, but going home we drove by ourselves...did I mention it was raining the whole way?  The original plan on the way home was to stop at every lobster stand we saw.  Unfortunately, it's difficult to eat lobster rolls outside in the rain.  The rolls get soggy.  So instead we stopped at a restaurant in Camden on the way home.


BASS HARBOR HEAD LIGHTHOUSE AT SUNSET


MORE BASS HARBOR HEAD LIGHTHOUSE


THE ROCKY COAST IN BASS HARBOR HEAD AT SUNSET
The little orange bits on the rocks are sunlight.
Hard to see in such a small image.  


The workshop began on Monday and was in Bar Harbor at Acadia National Forest.  We had a meeting in the late afternoon, then we all drove out to Bass Head Harbor for a gorgeous sunset, clambering over the rocks and boulders to get our spot for the show.  Then we all went to dinner at the Dockside Inn in town.
 NO SUNRISE IMAGES...SORRY
It's not that we weren't there!

We woke at 4:00 am Tuesday morning to get to the top of Cadillac Mountain for sunrise.  Like I said, I'm not a weather person and the cold is an issue in my life.  More than anything, I cannot stand to be cold.  We spent a fortune making sure we had lots of insulated clothing, Gortex jackets, smart wool socks and new hiking boots.  And layers...lots of layers.  At that hour in the morning the temps were in the low 40's.  When we got out of the car the winds were howling at what felt like about 60 mph.  I looked at Dick, Dick looked at me...we decided there is no picture worth traipsing in the dark over boulders the size of cars, with winds whipping at the top of a mountain.  I'm not into suffering for my art.  So we sat it out in the car, all the while watching a myriad of people come and go for a view of the sunset.  Most left before the sun actually rose due to the winds, I would suspect.  But I give them extra points for showing up at that hour.  Despite all the weather woes through the week we had a great time.  The other photographers were great, very friendly.  And Molly and Mary certainly made it worth our while, giving each of us individual attention and making us feel at east with what we didn't know.  There was no embarrassment at all.  We felt completely at ease.  And we learned so much.





SCHOODIC PENINSULA


BIRD BUTT
I thought this was his best side.

We spent the balance of the morning having breakfast at Jordan's Restaurant, the home of wonderful blueberry (Maine is to blueberries like Georgia is to peaches.)  pancakes, and then going out to shoot some more. 


SAW TONS OF SAILBOATS



BASS HARBOR HEAD LIGHTHOUSE FROM THE WATER



THERE'S A HOUSE NESTLED IN THE TREES OFF TO THE RIGHT.
If i had to live in Maine, it would be here.
BEAUTIFUL !



E -A - G - L - E - S - EAGLES!!!



CLICK TO ENLARGE AND FIND THE EAGLE.
It's there, honest.


LOBSTER BOATS ON THE WATER



 In the afternoon, we went on a fantastic cruise around Bar Harbor.  I don't know what the vessel was, but it reminded me of a very large lobster boat.  The captain was indeed a former lobsterman.  He filled us in on the life on the water regaling us with tales of the lobstermen and their territories.  We saw Atlantic Salmon fish farming on the water, an interesting pursuit.  And we saw loads of eagles, harbor seals, great gray seals, and cormorants.  No moose.  And more importantly, NO BEARS!!
After the cruise we shot the moonrise on the bay.





THIS IMAGE NEEDS A SAILBOAT.

Wednesday the rain started.  That kind of killed it for me.  We went for a drive to some little villages and got some great shots.  We also visited the Schoodic Peninsula.   Lots of rocky shots.    The autumn color was MAGNIFICENT and at it's peak...another plus.  I got some good shots, but my heart wasn't in it because of the weather.  It rained all day Wednesday. 




AND THE RAIN STARTED...



AND IT RAINED...



AND IT RAINED...



AND IT RAINED.



THOUGHT I'D TRY A B & W


ANOTHER LIGHTHOUSE




EACH LOBSTERMAN HAS HIS OWN COLORS.

Everyone knows each other's colors and territories.  If an interloper invades their territory, they will cut the buoy's right off the trap so that the trap is lost at the bottom of the sea.  The interloper soon learns where NOT to set his traps.  (Traps cost about $100 each.)


LITTLE VILLAGE BY THE SEA


TONS OF TRAPS
At $100  a pop!


On Thursday we went to Jordan's Pond in the park then had a wonderful lunch at a restaurant in Acadia.  I was starting to get really bummed by the weather at this point. That afternoon we had a critique of some of our work.  It was wonderful seeing what everyone had done.  There were some really talented people in our group.






RAIN ON JORDAN POND



MORE RAIN ON JORDAN POND




ANOTHER LITTLE VILLAGE STOP



CHARMING MAINE COLOR



SCHOONER CAPTAIN
Contemplating his navel?  No talking on his cell phone.  What else?




OLD TRADITIONAL LOBSTER TRAPS
No longer used.



HARBOR IN CAMDEN
Schooner traffic

Friday morning, after much deliberation, we decided to head for home via Route 1, following the coastline and visiting some of the little towns along the way.  We stopped in Camden for lunch and a little walkabout.

While we had a great time, we won't be scheduling any fall trips for awhile, unless it's to Arizona.  I'm really glad we went, though.  And now I have a wonderful winter wardrobe.  And more experience with the new Nikon.  Life is good!