Down East Maine Coast Photo Tours and Workshops

East Quoddy Light

John Slonina and I led a photo tour and workshop to the down East Maine coast, and Campobello Island from July 25-28.  Normally, John limits his group size to six so that everybody gets personalized attention, plus he supplies, transportation on the overnight to was.  However, on this trip, since I was co-leading we were able to take nine participants and we utilized two vehicles.  This tour also included accommodations, but not meals.  Since part of the time we were going to go into Canada and visit Campobello Island, all participants needed their passport.

Meeting at the hotel on the afternoon of the first day, after a brief introduction and making sure that everybody had their passport we left Machias and traveled up to Campobello Island to the very top, where we had a great time photographing East Quoddy Light.  On the way back, we stopped and photographed a number of old boats stranded on the beach.  After passing through customs, we traveled into Lubec for our supper and afterwards returned to our hotel.

Group at East Quoddy Light with John answering a question

Old beached boat

The next morning, we left at 4 AM to get the sunrise at West Quoddy Light and then photographed along the trails at West Quoddy State Park, capturing the vistas of the granite cliffs and the Atlantic ocean.  During all the stops, John and I answered questions, advised people about change in their perspective and working a scene, by taking pictures, not only horizontal, but vertical, high and low perspectives and including other elements in the scene.  After we finished the morning shoot, we traveled back into Lubec for breakfast, then returned to the hotel to rest before we left to come back to Lubec to go on a whale watch.

Photographing West Quoddy Light

West Quoddy Light ( not taken this trip)

Sunrise on Coast Guard Trail West Quoddy State Park

Granite Cliffs of West Quoddy State Park

Leaving Lubec harbor on the while watch vessel, we traveled up the Bay of Fundy in Passamaquoddy Bay looking for whales and photographing the shoreline.  We had a great look at both gray and harbor seals and did see some harbor porpoises.  The trip took us up to the head harbor passage, and we were able to see East, Quoddy light and photograph it from the ocean side.  An interesting landmark was Friars Rock on Campobello.  This rock formation was created by being hit with cannonballs fired from a fort on the American side of the bay.  However, we finished the trip put out seen any whales, but, all the other sightings were great.  Arriving back at Lubec, it was suppertime and afterwards back to the hotel for night sleep prior to our trip out to mid Machias Seal Island the next day.

Friars Rock

Gray and Harbor Seals with Eastport Maine in the background

East Quoddy Light from the ocean side

Bald Eagle on the cliffs on Campobello Island

Roosevelt Memorial Bridge with Campobello on the left and Lubec on the right

 I reported out our trip to Machias Seal Island, in a previous blog.  The only problem we had on that trip was a couple of people who got seasick.  Most of the group that was on the boat with us came back and shared supper with us in Machias.

Loading the boat for the trip to Machais Seal Island

Atlantic Puffins

I am sorry to say that one of the people who got seasick on the trip was still feeling very dizzy the next morning, so we did take her to the emergency room at the local hospital where she was treated with great care and when she was feeling better brought back to the hotel and since she was feeling better and she said she could travel, I tried to catch up with the group as they were headed home, stopping at various locations such as Beale Island, a working lobstering village, Corea harbor and the Schoodic Peninsula portion of Acadia National Park.  I finally caught up with the remnants of the group at the Peninsula.

Corea Harbor in the fog

 After leaving the park, we started the trip home.  It was a great group and the whole experience was a lot of fun.



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Machias Seal Island, a Magnificent Trip, Finally.

Atlantic Puffin in Flight

The day we were going out to Machias Seal Island to photograph the puffins and the other bird and animal life around, started out very foggy and we had to leave at 7 AM because of the weather forecast for possible thundershowers in the afternoon.  We arrived at Bold Coast Charter Company in Cutler, Maine, where Capt. Andy got us aboard his boat, the Barbara Frost, and we set sail in the pea soup fog for Machias Seal island.  Capt. Andy pushes boat, so we can get there as soon as we could and while we were traveling, he lectured us on the safety requirements, plus history of and information about what we would see.

Canadian Lighthouse on Machias Seal Island

When we arrived at the island, the weather was bright and sunny, Capt. Andy loaded the first group into the skiff to take us from the Barbara Frost to the landing area on the island.  However, he was not able to land and so he returned to the boat and loaded everybody aboard.  People were very disappointed.  The plan now was to go to a nearby island and photograph the seals, then return to a smooth place on the ocean, anchor and then take small groups of people in the the skiff and close, so they could photograph the puffins and razorbill auks on the water and at the shoreline.

Gray Seal getting ready to launch into the water

Gray and Harbor Seals

Northern Gannet in Glide Mode

The first group went and as they approach near the landing place, the water had calmed down enough that Capt. Andy thought we could land.  He returned to the Barbara Frost, talk to us saying if we land,  we would have to be on the island for at least three hours and would we mind.  The reason everyone was excited is that the "normal" time in the blinds range from 1/2 - 1 hour.  Everybody said let's land.  So Capt. Andy called the people at the lighthouse on the island and then he returned to the island where people were landed in three trips.

Capt. Andy taking the first group to the Island

 Once on the island, the whole group was immediately taken up to a patio area, where the rules were explained.  The main thing is, once we were in a blind, we had to stay there.  If we leave the blind, we had to immediately go back to the patio and we would have to stay there and could not go back into the blinds. The reason for this  is to keep the disturbance of the birds to a minimum.  Because we were going to be on the island for at least three hours, the plan was to change blinds at the hour and a half mark.  We were divided off into groups and off we went to be placed in our blinds.  The reactions of people who had not been ever on the island was wonderful to see once they looked at the beautiful puffins and razorbills.

Atlantic Puffin swimming

Atlantic Puffin just coming out from its burrow

Atlantic Puffin with wing flap

"Listen to me I am talking to you!"

Flock of Razorbill Auks

 At the hour and a half mark, we changed blinds and shot again with our cameras.  These magnificent birds.

Finally, we had to leave and went down to the landing area, where again we were loaded into the boat and carried back out to the Barbara Frost.  While I was waiting to leave, I was able to photograph a number of the puffins flying as they came rocketing by.  You have to see them, to realize how fast they fly.  The puffins flying make the gulls flying look like turtles.

Atlantic Puffin flying with fish in its mouth

Razorbill Auk in flight

Arriving back into the Cutler harbor.  We were able to photograph the Little River Light, which was built in 1840, along with the boats in the harbor.

Little River Light Cutler

 Once on shore, everybody was extremely hungry, so we returned to Machias, and the entire group, went and ate a very late lunch/early supper.  Everybody was so worn out that instead of going for a sunset, they want to go back to the room to rest and download and look at the pictures from that amazing trip.

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