Maine

A very good Monday morning to you all! I hope you were out and about and took advantage of the wonderful weekend weather.

Last week I had the extreme pleasure to make a return trip to Maine, traveling from a workshop I had instructed at in New Hampshire, with some dear friends Kelly and David Vann. Maine is the eastern most state in the U.S., the number one exporter of Blueberries and is the least densely populated state east of the Mississippi with about 83% of it forested. Most impressive is that Maine’s 230 miles of coastline is host to 66 Lighthouses of which 57 are still active. Each and every lighthouse has it’s own very unique personality. The oldest (built in 1791) and one of the most impressive of light stations is the Portland Lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. George Washington originally commissioned the Portland headlight in 1787.

My last trip to Maine was over 10 years ago where I spent three weeks on a magazine shoot in the north. I can honestly say I fell instantly in love with the beauty of the Northern coastal and vastly wooded scenic nature of the state. It was quaint, the people were very hospitable and enchanting and the scenery was breathtaking. I had the visual pleasure to see and capture the state from the ground, air and sea from a vantage point that most that have lived there may have never had the opportunity to do so. It is a mystical and whimsical state.

This fast and furious 2-½ day trip to Maine started off by heading south to Kennebunkport, which is home to Walkers Point, summer home of President George H.W. Bush. Our hotel was actually a half-mile from the compound and as luck would have it, the city was expecting the Presidents arrival the day after my departure. As we passed by the compound on Wednesday, it was a flurry of activity and full of Black customized SUV’s. Needless to say, my invitation to lunch did not arrive in time for me to delay my departure.

Maine is known for its lobster and clams and I must confess that we did our best to sample all we could, making it our mission to find the best lobster roll and clam chowder in the state. At the end of our dining journey, with all the votes cast, it ended in a tie between the Portland Lobster Company in Portland and Roberts Maine Grill located in Kittery. The one defining factor may have been the Blueberry Crumble desert at Roberts. I am pretty sure that put us in a Maine dining euphoric state of mind.

When not enjoying the oral coastal delicacies of the area, we spent our time touring and road tripp’n. It became a photographic delight capturing the essence of the harbors with their plethora of the boat dinghies, the lighthouses, the multi-colored lobster buoys and the butter fragranced lobster pounds. As much as it had a familiar feel, I was very surprised at just how different the landscape was in the southern part of the state versus the northern part, which I was so familiar with. The southern part was open with the majority of the coast dotted with houses while the north is populated with small boating communities surrounding the protected harbors and very heavily forested as you head inland. As much as I loved being back in Maine, I found myself pondering the beauty of the north over the south, the solitude of the quaint coastal harbors versus the more opened landscape of the south. There is no doubt that both areas are a photographers delight but I would have to exclaim that the north lent itself to the more adventurous! As much as I enjoyed the visit, next year I think I will share the North and all it has to offer by returning the favor and extending an invitation to my friends.. Enjoy!!!!!!