My photography trip to Acadia National Park

[subimatt]

Figured Id semi document the trip from my perspective...

ill be updating this over the next week, adding photos and such as I get time to go through them... Overall I had an absolute blast, despite the long drive and weather, I wouldnt think twice on making the trip again. I decided to take work off on Friday, allowing me to be a bit more organized.



Here is a Map of the trip for us.

If you look above on the Map, Locate Portland, ME. Notice the Highway that goes in almost a straight line? Yea... That is where ME took the failboat and apparently is still riding it. For more information, see this thread: http://www.newschoolofphotography.com/forum/index.php?topic=679.0



FRIDAY:
We left the house around 8am, Took the Bunny on its first big Road Trip! Had to run and do some errands, and drop off the jetta for scheduled maintenance. Wound up leaving NY around 10 and headed to Boston. We got into Boston around 12:30, met up with college buddy of mine that I havnt seen since our wedding. We walked around and met one of my wifes friends in town, went to lunch in Copley and did a little shopping. I brought the xti along since we were heading to Fenway to grab our 07' World Series gear ! Leah advised me not to bring the 30 and L combo as it would have been a pain... as always she was right. Got back to the In- Laws around 8, caught up a bit and headed to bed.

Now for some Photos: Boston

Quick shot of the NESoP as opposed to NSOP

Sweet Caroline....

One of Favorites

Neat VW Bus outside of Fenway.

 

[subimatt]

Saturday:

The alarm went off at 6am, I was tired but was really excited about getting up to the park and shooting an awesome Sunset! So, We get dressed, load up the car and have a cup of tea with my MIL before heading North. We wind up leaving the house around 7:15 and start the first part of the drive. It took us about 45 minutes to get to the NH border where we planned on meeting Jacobsen1 + 2.5. NH, is weird it has a tax free liquor store ( state run ) right across the border to MA,(think rest stop style, highway on and off exit only) so we planned on meeting there, however right before the exit, is an ACTUAL rest area... so myself being tired, I pulled in there and waited... Sure enough we watch Ben's mini drive by... Luckily they are only a mile or so apart so no big deal... We pull in, meet up, and let the girls have pee break #1.

After pee break, The mini needed a drink, so we stopped for some Gas and prepared for the long section of the trip. The Maine Thruway is like a small rollercoaster, up and down on short hills for miles. Little did we know, that the Thruway fooled us for the first time... (see link below Map) So after taking the "Long Way Round" (zing*?) We got off at the Augusta Exit. This lead into Pee Break #2.

After this stop, Leah decided to take out the xti and see what Maine had to offer... the first interesting sign we saw... Apparently in ME, you can get a Pepsi and a Tatoo in one stop!

We decided to drive more along the Coast from this point, and stay off the greedy toll booth Thruway. It was actually quite nice, very few cars and fairly scenic...

You wouldnt believe the amont of "Curves" we passed, I was everytime, when I though of the SP episode "Lesbos". Continuing to drive we saw another really interesting store...

It seemed that the weather was getting better the farther we drove away from RI/MA. I was getting hopeful that we would be able to get some nice shots this evening once we got to the park. As we got closer there was a new bridge that reminded me of the one in Boston.

view from the bridge

We drove through a little town with some more Curves... then we went to China!! China, Maine that is... strange.

There were some points on the trip that were just great to look at.

After a nice long drive along the Coast, we finally made it to Acadia... and of course. (Thanks to Kevins beautiful weather bragging the day before) it started raining... No big deal, we went to the BB. We checked in, dropped off some stuff and of course Pee Break #3. We met up with Kevin at the BB. We were all pretty hungry so we went to downtown Bar Harbor for some lunch. After a nice lunch filled with Lobster Bisque, Blueberry Soda, and some local Beer and seafood, we all headed back to the BB. At this point it was still light rain, not to bad, enough for some quick shots. So we packed the gear into Kevins Saabaru and headed for the park.

Not to bad on the way up...

So we decided to head to Cadillac Mountain...

Rut Roh?!

Yup... It started raining even more and we drove into the middle of a cloud. Not to worry, with some quick thinking and some AMAZING camera equipment I was able to get a clear shot of the view!

just ignore the text on the bottom left...

So, Despite the rain and the fog and the cold, We drove a full loop of the park and checked out some spots! This was acutally super helpful for the rest of the trip as we knew what we wanted to shoot and since our l33t nav skills were rusty, we wouldnt get lost in the morning. We then drove Nikki to the BB so she could take a nap. and all of us... well Pee Break #4. While Nikki was resting, the rest of us went to the other half of the park and decided to check out the Bass harbor lighthouse. Definitely a cool spot but by this time it was extremely cold, wet, and windy...

We all headed back to the BB, Pee Break #5. At this point we were all cold, wet, and hungry. We got changed relaxed a little bit, even broke out the lappy and voted for Stimey! We decided on an AWESOME place for dinner... It was called "Reel Pizza", what a great concept! you buy your $6!!!! Movie ticket, order a pizza, then go sit in a theater filled with couches, lazy boys, and traditional movie seats. All with tables and tv dinner stands for you to eat on. A bingo sign to the side let you know when your pizza was done.. and of course, whats pizza without BEER! Oh yea, Ben and I were all over the fact you could not only get pizza in the movies (good made to order pizza, opposed to your heat lamp stuff in other theaters) but Beer! So we again sampled the local flavors and watched Bee movie.

We then headed back to the BB, Kevin went home to get some rest, The four of us had a nice little conversation with the Inn keeper before getting some sleep... Before bed the plan was 5:30am lobby for sunset... weather unknown...

 

[subimatt]

Sunday:

So the alarm goes off at a dark and early 5am. I roll out of bed and cross my fingers as I go to check what its like outside.A few minutes later I proceed to get dressed with the hope that it might actually be a nice day. Got dressed and woke Leah up, grabbed the camera gear and headed down to the lobby. Kevin was waiting outside, so I let him in, we talked for about 5 minutes before Ben came down...

We then all piled into the Saabaru and headed off to Cadillac Mountain. We get close to the park, the sky is getting lighter and its nice and clear! We are all excited that we finally will be able to take some shots! So we pull around the corner and begin to head up... Gate is closed ! So we decided to outsmart the park and try another entrance, Surely they wouldnt have ALL the entrances closed... But they did. So Not wanting to miss the Sunrise at all, we headed out to the Lookout point to begin shooting. It turned out to be a better spot than the mountain, alot more things to capture there and was rather exciting being on the ocean. It was much more weatherly than what it seems in the photos, the wind was blowing very hard, nothing but white caps and huge waves. Ben almost lost his tripod, while Leah, Kevin, and I each fell down at least once due to large gusts. Definitely worth the shots, but we all needed to be a little extra alert. Ben, Leah, and I headed back up to the car, while Kevin was swimming.

This shot I took of Ben, sums up the water that morning.

Some Shots from Sunrise.

Kevin before he lost AF.

Seaspray on the Lens made for this interesting shot.

After the Sunrise, we decided to drive and see if the park was open yet, it wasnt as it was still pretty early in the day... Since there is also homes and towns in the park, there are also public roads. This allowed us not only to get to our sunrise location, but get to our next area as well. We drove to where a public road met with the closed park loop a little ways past Thunder hole. left the Saab and walked down to the water where there were some spectacular waves. As many of you may have seen or heard, I had an "incident", this was the spot.

I am borrowing Bens photo for Reference, Notice where I am.

Now we have been seeing some AMAZING waves the whole morning and I was determined to get some great shots of these, as the ocean is one of my favorite things. I found a nice rock on the pathway (notice I was back on the path in the photo). I figured I would situate myself right in front of the action! I was shooting there for a few minutes, getting some nice shots when I hear Leah yell "MATT!! Watch Out! Im looking through my viewfinder snapping away, I keep zooming out until I hit the 24mm mark and notice through the camera... The water is still getting closer . At this point Im sitting on a rock, I cant really move out of the way, I did the only thing I could, which was try to roll out of the way, keeping the camera as far away as possible... Sure enough I got a Huge wave right in my lap. Luckily I was able to get the camera out of reach. However I was now soaked and cold, just like the day before!

Ben made a funny little GIF of the action.

Here is one from my "Special" spot. This was the last shot during the above event.

Despite the wet pants, I still kept on shooting.

So from there, we keep taking some more photos and notice the park ranger drive by, sure enough a flood of tourists in their cars came through as well, looks like the park loop was finally open. We walked back to the Saab and decided to head back to the BB, I needed to change and the thought of Breakfast was on our minds. We stopped in a couple spots on the drive back to get some shots as well, but nothing for to long. Pee Break #6.

We got back to the BB, The Maples Inn. If I havnt mentioned this place earlier, it is simply wonderful. The rooms were private and extremely comfortable, the Inn Keeper was incredibly nice and the Breakfasts are INCREDIBLE. Not only did we eat, They also made Kevin a breakfast as well. it started with a fruit and yogurt parfait with a blueberry sauce, They also had these little raspberry danishes that I simply could not stop eating for the life of me... I think I ate half the plate. The main course, was Blueberry french toast with a blueberry maple syrup OMG was this good. Absolutely the best french toast I have ever eaten.

After breakfast we loaded up the cars and said goodbye to the Maples Inn as we headed out for some serious shooting. We started by heading out to Cadillac Mountain, Hopefully we could see past our fingers today.

The drive up the mountain was incredible, I was torn between the AWESOME road, windy and twisty and the STUNNING view. We made it to the top and what a view, you get an almost 360 degree view of the park and Harbor.

We took some shots, the girls headed back to the car as it was super windy and cold. Ben, Kevin, and myself stayed a bit longer to get some of our shots. Heck, we drove 7 Hrs to get there...we were determined to get what we came for. From there we proceeded to Thunder Hole. If you ever go to Acadia, This is the once place you HAVE to see. Its incredible, you can hear if while your pulling up and as soon as you see it, youll understand the its name.

What the waves entering Thunder Hole looked like

The walkway that Kevin almost went swimming.

After Thunder Hole, we headed to Sandy Beach, this was a great little spot, it was surrounded by large hills on both sides which blocked alot of the cold wind that was unpleasant. The sun was out and it was rather comfortable. There were some surfers trying to take advantage of the stormy seas, but didnt seem like they were having much luck. We walked around and took some shots.

Here are some from the beach.

Leaving the Beach, The girls headed for Pee Break #7. There was a great view of the mountain so I held up a little bit of traffic to get this shot.

We continued to drive around stopping here are there along the way, Every 1/8th of a mile there is a different lookout with a completely different view, This park is a place where you would simply need a week to get a good handful of the views, let alone a semi complete photographic session. Someplace we are definitely going to return (perhaps in the spring)! One of the stops we made, was a lookout point on perhaps the highest cliff along the park loop.

Heres a shot I took of Ben, Nikki, Jacobsen #3, and Leah

(this was the shot you were asking me about Kevin, your look was similar to: :huh
Exactly what I was going for, nice sillouhettes of the 3.

Our last stop of the day was the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. We drove out there, This time Ben was the in the lead... We drove in the right direction until we found ourselves in a little town going around a roundabout a couple times...

Ben and Kevin checking the Map.

With Kevin guiding us now, we finally made it to the lighthouse. Pee BLOCKED #8 (restrooms closed) Much better conditions from when we checked it out the day before, the Sun was out, it was low tide and perfect. I was able to get "The Shot" that you typically see of this lighthouse. It was a great end to a fantastic trip.

We said our goodbyes to Kevin. As Ben, Nikki, Leah, and I began the long trip back. We stopped shorty after to officially have Pee Break #8(9). Driving out of the Park was a little sad as I wish we could have spent more time there. I stopped for Gas, The pump didnt like Ben, so he was forced to trek on. We continued on and eventually stopped for the Mini and Pee Break #9. We made some good time on the way back until... Ben realized we had been had by the ME TPA see the following thread AGAIN: http://www.newschoolofphotography.com/forum/index.php?topic=679.0 ,

We parted Ben and Nikki in NH at Pee Break #10, as we were heading back to NY and they were heading to RI. The trip was great fun, I cant wait to do another.

 

[Keith Gebhardt]

that is awsome how you kept this jornal... very funny with the "in the cloud" pictures. haha, very nice pictures i might add

 

[JC1220]

If you thought the Pepsi and Tattoo parlor was interesting, you should see the Auto Parts and Liquor Store.

Thanks for visting Maine!

 

[Trenton Romulox]

Yeah, I recognize most of that stuff. I haven't been to Acadia in a few years, I'll have to get back soon. I assume you liked Maine, after all, Maine is the best place in the world.

 

[subimatt]

Thanks guys, it was a really fun trip. Id love to go back in the spring with some better weather and nicer colors, but the lack of people was really nice.

 

[LaFoto]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading through all this, and the little gif had me in stitches. Great photos for which you sacrificed yourself, your camera gear and your dry trouser bottoms .

You all had to pee pretty often. And no one could go in secret. All documented in your journal here .

 

[subimatt]

Thanks! Yea, the pee breaks were kind of the running joke, since my wife is tiny she tends to go more frequently, and Nikki is pregnant it just made for a non stop combination.