The Coast of Maine

Just got back from a very provocative (in every sense of the word) but very useful photography workshop on the Maine coast.  There were some fine people attending the work shop.  We carpooled to the various locations and I was lucky enough to be asked on board the traveling headquarters of Greg and Larry Craybas, a terrific Son and Father photography combo. Greg is an enormously gifted photographer as you”ll immediately see if you check out his website.  Larry’s not far behind either!  As with any educational experience, and I can say this as teacher, you often learn more meaningful lessons from the other students in the class, and that was certainly true for me.  Family matters most and hanging with these two wonderful guys was a real reminder of that most important lesson of all. (Of course, I was also lucky in that Chris could take off from work to be with me! I understand they have quilt shops in Maine…:)

But let’s see, coast of Maine, peak fall foliage season, anything to look at? (Click on the images for a better view.)

So you have to get up pretty early in the morning if you want to catch the best possible light, and we did.  Up at 4AM.  Yikes.  This is getting precariously close to sounding like work.  But the light is really what differentiates a good from a great photo.  With the right light, you show up, compose and click as we did at Casco Bay.  The photo above is not retouched.

The foliage was indeed just about hitting it’s peak.  But even the foliage can start to look somewhat stale in bad light.  The best light can be quit fleeting, as you notice on the horizon.

Wet rocks have a very interesting sheen, one that brings out their color in a more saturated fashion.  Take note though, those rocks are quite hazardous.  Before I had a chance to click the shutter once, I went down. I landed, gulp, on my Nikon D3x. Everyone rushed in to help me up.  I felt very cared about until it became clear to me that the real question on everyone’s mind was, “is the camera OK?”  It was.  Thank you Nikon. (Seriously, wet rocks are as slick as ice. Take care if you go after shots like this.)

From the landscape to the industry….Maine is not just a recreational stop over for photographers of course, though it sure the harbors sure are picturesque.

Many of the boats at South Bristol Harbor work for a living.

Again, time of day is everything.  The sun had been below the horizon for probably close to an hour.  We were just getting ready to leave.  The sky and the landscape had a wonderful blueish hue, punctuated only by the moon and the incandescent lights of the harbor itself.  I turned around, saw this shot, and asked Greg and Larry for just one more click.  They obliged…

The next morning, crack of dawn, back to work.  This time in Damariscotta, a real Maine small town.  At dawn and dusk you’re also more likely to see interesting things happen in the atmosphere.  The changing temperatures create atmospheric movement, as well as influencing the hue and contrast of a scene.

The town was enthralled and entangled in a gigantic pumpkin festival. About every 25 feet you’d  see another monster pumpkin that had sacrificed it’s existence for, not actually sure what…

Several years back I did a travel photography workshop with the great Bob Krist. Bob is a terrific photographer, writer, educator and person, but he’s also I believe the last person to have given me a dope slap (deservedly in this case let me stress).  In each of the workshop week’s photo shoots, we were to deploy the tactics of a good travel photographer to get the story.  A good travel photographer should come back to his or her editor with wide, establishing shots, mid range shots and detailed shots.  The weather that day was lousy, I was uninspired, and so came back to the workshop after an afternoon spent at the Pemquid Point Lighthouse with not one single picture of the lighthouse. Hence, the dope slap.  I hope we’re all square now Bob.

Actually, I think this is the picture Bob wanted.

Who is in charge here?

Thanks again to Chris, Larry and Greg!