North Woods Adventure (by Ian Plant)
Okay, I know what you are thinking: what happened to the last installment of the Horseshoe Crab Chronicles? I had intended to shoot the crabs one last time this year, during the full moon cycle of June 7. I was going to go up Friday the 5th, but heavy rain moved into the mid-Atlantic. The next day, it was completely sunny out — no clouds, no pictures is my motto. I could have gone up on Sunday, but I have been itching for some time to head up to Maine for some shooting. So I decided, screw the crabs, I’m heading north! I was planning on being there for two weeks, but unfortunately had to cut my trip short and come home to deal with an emergency of sorts (nothing catastrophic, but it did require my immediate attention).
I drove all day Sunday to make it to Acadia National Park in time to shoot sunset. I met fellow shooter Alex Mody at the Schoodic Peninsula tract of the Park, but sunset was a bust. Heavy cloud cover had moved into the area, and there was no color but grey in the sky. No good for color photography . . . so I started thinking in terms of black & white. A few dramatic clouds in the sky caught my attention, so I headed down to the shore to make the following image (converted to black & white in Adobe Raw Converter):
Not a bad start to the trip! The next morning, we had partly cloudy skies, so we went to Otter Cliffs to photograph sunrise from the cobble beach. The light was good, but in my opinion the clouds didn’t quite support the composition. Overall it is not a bad shot, but the magic I am always looking for just didn’t happen:
After sunrise, we traveled north to Cutler, where we would depart by boat (operated by Bold Coast Charter Company) the following morning to photograph the puffin colony on Machias Seal Island. Along the way, I saw some bunchberry in full bloom. We stopped to shoot (of course). I am always looking for interesting shapes in my compositions, and a pleasing relationship between elements of a scene. Instead of opting for a more traditional, straight down view of the bunchberry, I took out my 24mm tilt-shift lens and got low in an effort to use wide-angle perspective to create a unique composition. The tilt feature of the lens helped keep everything in focus, even though I was within inches of the nearest flowers:
We spent the evening exploring the Bold Coast area just north of Cutler. It is a very rugged and beautiful area, with 200 foot cliffs rising above the sea. I haven’t processed any images yet from that hike, largely because the light was not terribly interesting, but something good might come out of it. I had intended to go back and shoot the area this weekend . . . oh well, I will get back up there again, soon I hope!
The next morning we set off by boat to Machias Seal Island, a small island about ten miles off the coast of Maine. The island, which is claimed by both the United States and Canada, is home to a summer nesting colony of puffins and razorbills. We were only allowed to photograph from a small blind on the island for a little over an hour. What a fun shoot! The puffins come right up to the blind, even crawl around on top of it. Here’s a few images that I have processed so far:
That evening, clouds and rain moved into the area for an extended period, so the next morning Alex and I drove three hours to Gulf Hagas Preserve, a scenic gorge in the Maine north woods. Although the mosquitoes were horrible, we nonetheless had a great time, hiking eight miles in the rain and photographing waterfalls. While making an image of Screw Auger Falls, I accidentally dropped my polarizer filter and filter holder in the water. It was immediately washed away by the rushing stream, and sent tumbling over a thirty foot waterfall into a deep and inaccessible gorge below. Nothing like watching $400 float away! I’m just glad I made the following image before I dropped the filter; a polarizer is essential when shooting waterfalls to remove the glare on wet rocks and foliage.
I was planning on heading back to the coast the next morning, but an urgent call from my wife sent me back home instead. So instead of shooting today, I am bloggin! Oh well, shit happens. Hopefully I can resolve matters here soon and head back up for some more North Woods Adventure!
P.S. I am now on Twitter. Yes, I know — totally lame. But I am making an effort to embrace new and emerging communications technology in an effort to better promote my photography. So if you are tweeting (or not), feel free to Follow Me on Twitter!
Hi Ian. Excellent work. I was the other photographer on the Puffin Tour on Tuesday. I also thought it was a great day on the island. While you and Alex gave me your cards as we chatted afterward, I’m not sure that I even introduced my wife (Barb) and myself. So hello again, I’m Ed Vatza.
We are still in Bar Harbor (will be until Wednesday). I was checking out the cobble beaches yesterday and am hoping for the rains to pass and skies to clear so I can get some sunrise shots in before we leave.
Hi Ed! It was great meeting you and Barb. Hope you get some great shots! Wish I was still up there.
Ian,
Lovely images.
I do have a question for you.
I am going to Machias Island in July and was curious as to what focal lengths would be helpful to photograph the puffins from the blind. (assuming full frame.)
Thanks
Juan Garcia
Juan, I used the following focal lengths on my full frame camera: 300mm, 500mm, and 500mm with a 1.4x teleconverter. The puffins get real close, so lenses in the range of 200-400mm are probably most useful. Longer lenses are great for tight portraits.
Thanks for the help.
Juan
Fantastic images, makes me want to head North. The image of the falls is my favorite.
Regards,
Ed
Really enjoyed your post, Ian. Always do, but this one was about my home state! Great Maine images and I’m sure you have many more. So sorry to hear about your polarizer. Those “little accidents” happen when you least expect it and damn if they aren’t over in a split second – ugh! Oh well, come on back to Maine when you can!