fuji xt30 Archives - Cape Ann Photo Tours

Bailey Island Maine Lobster Shack

May 30, 2021 by Kirk

Maine is such a huge state it’s almost impossible to see every part of it. One place I have never visited is the Bailey Island lobster shack. This island is located south of Brunswick and Harpswell and is a quintessential coastal Maine location. The main resource is lobstering and it is in evidence everywhere. A friend showed me a photograph of a lobster shack that sits out on a rocky point in Mackerel Cove on Bailey Island. I knew right away I had to photograph it. This proved to be a little more difficult than initially thought. It was low tide and the access was very tricky. From the road I had to climb over a guard rail and down a steep embankment to get onto the tidal plain. But it was worth it. The sun was in and out and I had to wait for the right light before making the photograph below.

Luckily the rocks and seaweed added a foreground element leading up to the shack. The calm water added just the right element, a mirror like reflection! I now have several wonderful images of this iconic lobster shack and can’t wait to bring our tour group up here in June. There were many other fabulous images around Mackerel Cove. One of them was this derelict lobster boat which was pulled up on the beach at the head of the cove with the name “Full Throttle” which was appropriate for an abandoned boat.

Cape Ann Photo Tours will be leading another group up to Mid Coast Maine in September so be sure to click the link and check it out. This tour takes in Boothbay to Camden which is a pretty large area. If we have time we might even make it down to Bailey’s Island. My co-leader for this tour is Jim Scouletis a well know photographer here in Massachsetts check out his website here.

Up to the Gunnels – Schooner Sylvina W. Beal

May 29, 2020 by Kirk

Harold Burnham is going to rehab this old schooner the Sylvina W. Beal over the next two years but for the moment she has been tied up next to his shipyard in Essex, MA. This gave me a great opportunity to check out my most versatile lens the 16-80 mm or in 35mm full frame terms 24-120mm. This is a great range and which these images will give you an idea of. The morning was very still and the water was barely moving when I arrived in Essex. The reflections were outstanding and gave me some very nice images of this vessel at high tide.

The reflections, peeling paint, and old hull made for some intriguing compositional elements. In black and white this became even more apparent.

Walking around for different vantage points gave me some even more exciting images using this great all-purpose lens! I shoot mostly at the wide and long end with very little at the 35mm/50mm mark so this latitude was a true god send for this particular project.

The old abandoned hull of the schooner Maine sits sunk in the mud near the Burnham Shipyard in Essex. The long throw of the 16-80 gives some nice perspective on this rotting relic.

Another shot using the 16-80 at 16/24mm also gives some nice perspective. I really enjoyed the outing with this lens as I find myself using it more and more as my go to lens. Below is the video on my experience photographing the Beal.

Working the composition

November 22, 2019 by Kirk

One of the things that I teach in my workshops is to work the composition. What this means is to not just make one image. When you see something that catches your eye, make the shot that initially pulled you in then look for other angles moving the camera position around and trying new shots. This morning I found some great looking window boxes out in front of the Rockport Art Association. I was pulled in by this initial scene below.

fall window box — Fall window box at the Rockport Art Association

It’s not bad, but in post I did nothing to make it better, like cropping in from the left a little more. Instead I worked the scene a little more with the following images.

These images are ok, but as I looked around I noticed that the window box next to it had what I was looking for. I placed the cabbage in the lower right corner leading up to the bright orange mini pumpkins in the left corner. I decided to have the cabbage (or whatever you call it) in sharp focus and the pumpkins a little out which helps your eye start out right in the middle of the cabbage. At this close distance f8 will still render the background out of focus which is what I was aiming for.

I love the way the flower here is in sharp focus and the veins of the leaf pull you up to the pumpkins and then the red berries pull you back around to the plant in the foreground again. So the viewers eye keeps moving around the image. Then as I was about to leave another composition pulled me in from the same window box but to the right of this.

The vine with the red berries pulls you up to the pumpkin then out to the left of the frame and then circles back in again. I love it when things come together.