Color Images

Nubble Nights

The Milky Way rises on a frigid night over Nubble Lighthouse . Windblown snow remains the day after "Superstorm Nemo" battered the coast and left behind 3 feet of snow as a friendly reminder of the power of Mother Nature.

Starburst

Well technically a sunburst. But the sun is a star and a sunburst isn't a tasty candy so "Starburst" it is. Taken along the Marginal Way in Ogunquit, Maine. One of my favorite stretches of coast anywhere, the Marginal Way runs from Perkinc Cove to Ogunquit Beach providing easy access to dramatic rocky coastline and sandy beaches alike.

The Way

Biddeford Pool, Maine. My 11 year old son had RSVP to go shooting with me this morning and after a surprisingly easy 2am wakeup call from his top bunk we made the trek down to Biddeford Pool. I had a few shots in mind but light pollution from nearby buildings (to the owner of the house on Fortune's Rock, let it be noted that 8 floodlights lighting up your yard, the beach, the driveway and your house are not strictly speaking necessary) rendered them all unusable. I had shot this location before but the boardwalk to the beach was a new feature. There's nothing more relaxing than firing off milky way shots while talking life with your son as shooting stars fire overhead. Always a pretty enjoyable experience. 5 shot focus stack here for the pathway.

Solitude

All along the coast of Maine you will find a host of different canoes, skiffs, rowboats and all different manner of small boats like this one tied up waiting to take working fishermen and lobstermen to their work boats. This weathered and worn canoe rests along the beach in at Pine Point in Scarborough, Maine.

Beaming

Upper Antelope Canyon, Page, Arizona. The shooting experience in the slot canyons of Page were nothing like what I expected. I wrote a blog post on it a few years back but the short story is that the canyons are filled to the brim with tourists on a daily basis. A good photo guide is essential as they know the schedule when the light beams fire into the canyon and will hold the hordes back while you take your shots. Regardless, the canyons are spellbinding and the colors, textures and layers that greet you around every corner are awe inspiring.

I Heart Maine

Pine Point Beach, Scarborough, Maine. Pine Point is about a 10 minute drive from my house and the default beach for family afternoons on a sunny summer day. When the tide goes out little pools and ripples are left behind in the sand providing some great foreground interest. On this day my most loyal 11 year old assistant was along for the late night ride and we enjoyed listening to the fish jump in the cove, stomping in the sand to make the phosphorescence light up and watching the big crabs raid the little hermit crab colonies along the waterfront. Maine can be a pretty cool place. The lights on the horizon are from the nearby towns of Old Orchard Beach and Cape Ellis.

Little Red Boat

People like boats. I like boats, you like boats, we all like boats. Here's a picture of a red one. If you ever find yourself in need of a spot to shoot a sunset over the ocean in Southern Maine you are limited in options. The working docks here at Pine Point in Scarborough are the closest location to me and when I peek out my window around sunset and see the clouds gathering for a possible brilliant sunset I will often hop in the car and make a mad dash down to the waterfront. If the tides are right you can catch a whole beach full of these waiting to take the guys who work on the water out to their boats.

Sand Beach Nights

The Milky Way rises over Sand Beach in Acadia National Park, Maine. Local ordinances in Bar Harbor and other area towns are aimed at curbing light pollution keeping the skies around Acadia some of the darkest in the Northeast allowing for star shows that few on the eastern coast ever get to see. This image was awarded Best in Show at the 2013 Maine Photography Show

Sublime

Badwater Basin, Death Valley, California Sublime isn't a description of an image, it's a description of the feeling I had as I was making these images. Coming at the tail end of a day where I had spent the morning several hours away shooting the slot canyons in Page, AZ, the experience here at Badwater was one of those moments in life that you remember forever. As I stood for the first time on the salt flats, the temperature still well over 110 degrees and the hot breeze sucking the moisture from my skin, completely alone on the playa, the sun set, the colors came out and a wash of pure awesomeness rushed over me. Sometimes it's pretty cool to be alive. Mother nature kicks ass.

Nightlight

The moonlight illuminates the cliffs along the Atlantic at Fort Williams. This early morning shot was one of my first attempts to capture the stars and opened my eyes to the opportunities of making fresh images of often shot icons along our coast. My favorite part of this image to this day remains the pure gold rock on the beach. This image recently graced the cover of Downeast Magazine, one of my favorite local publications.

First Light

The sun rises over Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park, Maine. During the fall and winter months, those who brave the howling winds and frigid temps at Cadillacs' peak are rewarded with the first touch of the suns light in America. If you decide to see it for yourself, come prepared. Dress warm and expect crowds bigger than you would reasonable expect for an experience that requires a pre dawn wake-up call and a winding drive around the mountain.

Illuminated

Portland Head Lighthouse, Fort Williams, Cape Elizabeth, Maine. How do you get a unique image of an icon? Make your images when nobody is watching. It will take some special maneuvering to make your way into the PHL at night but in this event I was rewarded with a spectacular view of the Milky Way rising over one of America's most historic lighthouses.

The remains of the 3 masted coal transport stranded in the sand at Higgin's Beach, Scarborough, Maine.

Mesquite Dunes

White Pocket Sunset

I live on the coast of Maine so if I want to see great color in the sky it generally means a 4am wake up call to make the drive to a coastal location to watch the sun come up over the ocean. For me it's a real treat to watch the sun set at 7 pm at an amazing location like White Pocket in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument area here in northern Arizona desert.

The Bend

The sun sets over Horseshoe Bend in Page, Arizona. For me this was one of the most challenging shots to make ever... My fear of heights (which I feel is justifiable by the ever present possibility of plunging thousands of feet to a gruesome and twisted death) forced me to crawl on my stomach to the edge of the canyon to make this image. That experience alone was gut wrenching enough without having to endure the pitying stares of the other photographers lined up along the edge.

The Rock and the Milky Way

This image of the Milky Way rising over the Atlantic in Biddeford Pool illustrates one of the challenges of shooting the stars. The narrow depth of field afforded by shooting wide open (in this case f2.8) necessitates that you will need to take multiple pictures at different focal points to ensure you get a final image that will capture both a foreground and background that is sharp.

The Night Watchman

The iconic view of the Virgin River flowing through Zion National Park has a different feel when photographed on a full moon night. The peaks of the Watchman are bathed in moonlight instead of the typical late evening sun as night prepares to give way to dawn.

The approach to Screw Auger Falls in Grafton Notch State Park, Maine.

Warm glow of the rising sun on the Portland Head Lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine

Water rushes through an opening in the rocks in Biddeford Pool, Maine

Ocean Front Property in Arizona

On my last trip out to the Southwest my party and I made a couple attempts to get permits into the iconic Wave in Coyote Buttes North. We struck out both times but I'm happy to say I still found some waves out in White Pocket in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument area. Awesome awesome place and one of the most truly awe inspiring light shows that I have ever seen this night.

Rush

Sunsets on Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. I wouldn't really categorize this image as a "driftwood" picture. Really this is just a piece of tree that happened to have fallen in the ocean. Give it a few months and as the bark gets stripped bare by the endless tides and the combination of salt and sun bakes it to grey, then it will earn the title of driftwood. For now, here's a stick in the water.

Smooooth

Sun rises over Spring Point Ledge Lighhouse in Portland, Maine. This is one of the first long exposure images I ever made. Armed with just a 4 stop ND filter and a polarizer I still managed to squeeze out a decently long exposure under the cover of pre dawn darkness. The smoothness of the water I had anticipated, the intensity and saturation of colors that comes along with long exposures was a surprise.

Not a Lighthouse Pic

Technically there are two lighthouses in this image. To the left is possibly the most famous of all lighthouses The Portland Head Lighthouse (just the very edge) and in the far far distance is Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse (fairly recently purchased for $190,000 by a local surgeon). So technically I suppose this is a lighthouse pic. That being said, PHL is situated on some of the best publicly accessible seaside real estate for miles. Jagged rocks, steep cliffs, decent surf, they all add up to a great place to shoot seascapes with or without a lighthouse or two.

Ice crystals on a frozen cabbage plant.

Pink sunrise over the rocks and beach of the Marginal Way in Ogunquit, Maine

Jordan Stream, Acadia National Park, Maine

The sun sets over an algae covered rock at Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

Lost and abandoned lobster traps sink into the sand on Camp Ellis Beach in Saco, Maine

Marginal Way Sunrise

Sun rises at Fort Foster in Kittery Point, Maine.