For twenty years I lived and worked in the Northeast, and in that time visited most major areas along the East coast. But I never made it to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. Then about ten years ago, I was invited to help teach a photography workshop there and realized what a mistake I’d made. So in 2019, and again in 2021, I led my own photo trips there, and once more last month. It’s a place I’d highly recommend every photographer try to visit.
During those years in Upstate New York, I came to love the Adirondacks. With its hardwood forests, placid lakes and lovely mountains, it was always a joy to visit in summer, fall or winter (not spring, which is blackfly season!). Acadia National Park offers all of that, plus one big addition – a seashore. Combine that with the fact that the park is relatively small, making it easy to get around, and offers plenty of lodging and dining options in Bar Harbor, and it’s practically a perfect photo location.
While I assume the other seasons are nice too, perhaps the prettiest time to be there is in the fall, with the leaves on all those hardwood trees changing color. However, a LOT of people know that, so the biggest challenge is trying to time your visit for when those leaf-peeper crowds are starting to thin, but before the cold, wet weather sets in. And that’s exactly what we did last month. Here are some of the photos from our trip, with a little information about where we went and what we did. (And if you’d like to see more photos from that trip, you can find them in a gallery here)
I like to start the trip at Thuya Gardens. While its season is officially over, the gardens are still open and there are nice pictures to be found, and different from the rest of what we’ll see. Nikon Z 8, Aperture Priority, Natural Auto white balance, ISO 640, 1/640 at f/8 in Matrix metering, -0.3 EV, Nikkor Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens at 400mm.
The little harbor town of Bernard is one of the places I found on my first visit, and it’s a gem. We often come across lobstermen working on their pots, like this man who’s preparing his traps for the winter season. Nikon Z 8, Aperture Priority, Natural Auto white balance, ISO 160, 1/800 at f/8 in Matrix metering, -1.0 EV, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S lens at 14mm.
Bernard is also a great place to find classic Maine scenes like this. Nikon Z 8, Aperture Priority, Natural Auto white balance, ISO 100, 1/160 at f/14 in Matrix metering, -0.7 EV, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S lens at 16mm.
At the end of the first day we headed to Bass Head Light for sunset. Waiting for that, I found a starfish (technically, a “sea star”) in a tidal pool. On a landscape trip like this it’s easy to forget to notice the little things that nature offers. Nikon Z 8, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 800, 1/80 at f/8 in Matrix metering, 0.0 EV, Nikkor Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens at 250mm.
Bass Head Light is one of the most popular sunset locations on the island (yes, Acadia is on an island, Mount Desert). But the small parking lot means you better get there early! Nikon Z 8, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 200, 1/100 at f/8 in Matrix metering, -1.0 EV, Nikkor Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens at 35mm.
We started our second morning before sunrise, at some rock slabs I like to take my groups to on the eastern shore. Waiting for the sun, you’ll always see some lobstermen out early too. Nikon Z 8, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 1600, 1/160 at f/8 in Matrix metering, -0.3 EV, Nikkor Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens at 400mm.
Those same rock slabs, once the sun comes up, with Otter Cliffs in the distance. Nikon Z 8, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 200, 1/25 at f/14 in Matrix metering, -1.0 EV, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S lens at 20mm.
Another nice detail, as a single yellow leaf stands out from the muted colors around it. This was thanks to one of our group who noticed the frost. Yes, going late in the season can mean some cold weather! Nikon Z 8, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 800, 1/80 at f/9 in Matrix metering, -0.7 EV, Nikkor Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens at 105mm.
Sieur de Monts offers a number of nice woodland and meadow opportunities, so I always make sure we spend several hours there. Nikon Z 8, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 160, 1/250 at f/11 in Matrix metering, -1.0 EV, Nikkor Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens at 400mm.
The “Wild Gardens of Acadia,” at Sieur de Monts, has plants native to the area. My favorite of those are the ferns that turn golden brown in the fall. Finding this group with nice lines, and backlit with a dark background, made my morning. Nikon Z 8, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 200, 1/200 at f/10 in Matrix metering, 0.0 EV, Nikkor Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens at 400mm.
I moved our visit to Schoodic Point ahead a day for reasons I’ll explain shortly. But for now, let me show you a picture from there that illustrates why I often carry a flash on landscape trips. Holding it off to the left, I was able to light up this rock protruding from a pool of water, matching its exposure to the sky and the last light of day on the other rocks. Nikon Z 8, Nikon SB-5000 speedlight, Manual exposure, Sunny white balance, ISO 200, 1/250 at f/8 in Matrix metering, -0.7 EV, Nikkor NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S lens at 14mm.
This is why I took the group to Schoodic Point a day early. With a Super Moon rising near sunset that evening, I knew we’d have a view to the east to photograph it above the shoreline. Nikon Z 8, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 800, 1/60 at f/8 in Matrix metering, -0.7 EV, Nikkor Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens at 400mm.
Then, with sunset quickly fading at Schoodic Point, I set up some Lume Cubes to light the foreground for a night shoot. As a bonus, we were able to include a comet in the photo (C/2023 A3, Tsuchinshan-atlas). It was visible in the western sky, as Schoodic Point offers clear views both east and west. Nikon Z 8, Manual exposure, Sunny white balance, ISO 1600, 6-seconds at f/4 in Matrix metering, -1.7 EV, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S lens at 30mm.
For a change of pace, we spent our third morning wandering the streets and shoreline in Bar Harbor. That gave us another opportunity to make photos that are different from the classic landscape shots we’d mostly been making during the trip. Nikon Z 8, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 200, 1/50 at f/8 in Matrix metering, 0.0 EV, Nikkor Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens at 105mm.
Later that afternoon, I took the group to Jordan Pond. With nice fall foliage along the shore, I spent a lot of time working with the reflections that color created on the water. Nikon Z 8, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 125, 1/60 at f/10 in Matrix metering, -0.7 EV, Nikkor Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens at 270mm.
On the last morning, we took a short hike to Schooner Head for sunrise, using our tripods for some long-exposure photos. Nikon Z 8, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 64, 8-seconds at f/13 in Matrix metering, -2.0 EV, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S lens at 19mm.
Sand Beach was our next stop, where some of us used tripods once again, this time to make interesting pictures of waves crashing against the rocks. Using a neutral density filter lets me use a slower shutter speed than otherwise. Nikon Z 8, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 64, 1/8-second at f/13 in Matrix metering, 0.0 EV, Nikkor Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens at 290mm.
Learning that the Seal Cove Auto Museum was having a car show that day, we stopped by for something different (and they had good donuts!). Nikon Z 8, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 640, 1/250 at f/10 in Matrix metering, -1.3 EV, Nikkor Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens at 145mm.
Somesville is another small town I found on an earlier trip, which has a lovely little pond and bridge. Nikon Z 8, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 100, 1/100 at f/9 in Matrix metering, -0.3 EV, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S lens at 18mm.
This was one of my favorite photos from the trip, of some leaves floating on that same pond in Somesville. What makes it special to me is the black background, caused by the pond being in shade and a layer of dead leaves covering its bottom. Nikon Z 8, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 640, 1/50 at f/11 in Matrix metering, -0.7 EV, Nikkor Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens at 280mm.
While in Somesville, I always take the group to a very old cemetery there. I’m always struck by how much different the world was that those people lived in compared to the one we do now. Nikon Z 8, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 250, 1/100 at f/16 in Matrix metering, 0.0 EV, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S lens at 19mm.
(If you like this story, please share it with your friends and let them know about the links on photography that I post on my business Facebook page. You can also find my photos on Instagram. And if you’re curious about the workshops I teach, you can find them here. Finally, you can subscribe to this blog on my home page.)
Very nice Reed!
Beautiful photos …