Feeling Like Summer time – Dominic Trapani Images

The timber are starting to bloom in massive numbers right here alongside the Mid-Coast of Maine, and with temperatures climbing into the 70’s and 80’s the previous couple of days we’ve loved our first actual style of the approaching summer season season. With such stunning climate over this previous weekend I took the chance to move all the way down to the Portland space on Saturday and get out with the digicam alongside the shoreline.

It had been some time since I’d visited the three lighthouses round Portland Harbor (Portland Head, Spring Point, and Portland Breakwater), so it appeared like the proper day to move over and seize some recent imagery of those widespread beacons. However earlier than I headed into Portland I made a decision to go to a brand new location that I had but to discover: Higgins Beach in Scarborough.

My motivation for investigating this explicit seaside was to {photograph} Piping plovers, a small and endangered shorebird that nests on a couple of sandy seashores alongside southern Maine from April by August. I had by no means photographed these stunning birds and had heard Higgins Beach was a great place to see them foraging for meals within the tidal zone.

The seaside was almost empty after I arrived round mid-morning, which I discovered fairly stunning contemplating it gave the impression to be almost an ideal seaside day. But this was good for me photographically because it meant much less interruptions to the plovers. I made my approach up towards the northern finish of the seaside the place I found my first plover wandering across the seaside grasses. I rapidly set myself up down close to the water’s edge and waited for the plovers to come back down the seaside in the hunt for meals.

Keeping low to the bottom and remaining very nonetheless are two of crucial keys to photographing these birds, and for those who do a adequate job of each they may truly wander fairly near you. I had a 600mm lens with me so I may seize some extra detailed photos of the plovers, but it surely was actually wonderful how shut they might meander towards the digicam.

I may have stayed and photographed the plovers for hours, however with excessive tide nearing the birds had been slowly wandering again up into the dunes to relaxation till the feeding grounds returned on the ebb tide. This was my key to move up the street to discover some lighthouses!

Portland Head Lighthouse was my first cease, and although it may need been calm and peaceable on the seaside it was nothing like that at Fort Williams Park. Hardly a parking spot could possibly be discovered, and a whole lot of individuals had been having fun with the colourful sunshine and heat temperatures. Despite the crowds I managed to discover a spot to park the automobile and made my approach all the way down to the shoreline the place I hoped to seize some crashing surf in entrance of the lighthouse.

Unfortunately the gate that leads all the way down to the rocks under the lighthouse was locked, so all I may do was try to give you a composition alongside the shore path. I made a decision that I’d attempt my hand at the obvious composition of this lighthouse that you simply’ll discover, one that you simply’ll see on postcards, calendars, and numerous different vacationer memorabilia. However in my quest to come back with one thing at the least a little bit distinctive, I grabbed an ND filter out of my bag, prolonged the shutter velocity to twenty sec, and captured this picture…

Is this a picture that many individuals have shot earlier than? Yes. But am I pleased with the outcomes? Also sure. Sometimes the obvious shot is an effective one!

After capturing this picture I used to be already getting uninterested in the crowds right here so after capturing one other lengthy publicity picture, this time of the Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse offshore, I packed up my gear and headed up the street to Spring Point and Portland Breakwater Lighthouses. Parking was additionally at a premium at these areas and I didn’t hold any longer than obligatory, but it surely was such a phenomenal afternoon to be alongside Casco Bay.

I had the Wista 45D with me on this journey and pulled it out at every lighthouse to seize a picture. This was the primary time I had captured these lighthouses for my “Lighthouses of Maine: On 4×5” undertaking, so it was very nice to cross them off my checklist. But undoubtedly I’ll be returning to seize some extra imagery from every location in some totally different circumstances. I’ll be sending the uncovered negatives to my developer this week, and I’m actually excited to share them with you quickly!

It was such a enjoyable day of images and it has me wanting ahead to the summer season season with a lot anticipation. The late-winter/early-spring time could be a little bit of a tough time photographically alongside the Maine coast when the panorama is dominated by brown hues, which makes the arrival of inexperienced leaves and blue skies that rather more thrilling. And the hotter temperatures make it far more fulfilling to get out on the water, and I have already got some images boat journeys deliberate for June. Stay tuned for some recent imagery from these and thanks for studying!