Acadia National Park

[Greg Miller]

I have been fortunate enough to have been selected to be an "artist in residence" at Acadia National park this fall (2009). I was pretty sure I had seen a guidebook for the park mentioned on this site that everyone thought was very good. But now that I do a search I cannot find it (I even thought I added it to my Amazon wishlist). Or perhaps too many brain cells have died in the past few years. Any suggestions?

I will be based on Schoodic Point. According to the park staff I won't ever want to leave that area. And previous posts on this site seem to confirm that. But I would still like to do some research so that I make the most of the opportunity.

[eddie]

that is great greg. congrats. sorry i can not help you with the book. i spent 1 week there last may. fun for sure.

cheers

eddie

[Michael Rosenberg]

Greg,

Congratulations!

I used to live in Bar Harbor and worked as a scientist at the Jackson Laboratory (worth visiting and getting some information). I was last there 2 years ago for a conference. I will try to help you as much as I can.

You will probably be living in former Naval/Coast Guard quarters in Winter Harbor on Schoodic Peninsula. Nearby is a fantastic winery - do stop in. Their dry cask blueberry wine is unbelievable - very dry cabernet-like wine. The dry pear wine is good also.

Schoodic point is really different with each turn of the weather and storm. So there is a lot to photograph there alone. The park uses an old Rockerfeller home, that is huge and solid. Drive the park loop road and there are some coves and parts of forest with potential.

If you can travel north go up to Calais. I have not been there, but it does have possibility. Just north of Winter Harbor are some interesting villages.

Mt. Desert Island will be nice in the winter. Look for some of the marshes and fields, which are not the usual spots people go - in winter they have good potential. The one-way road has many places to stop with views of the coast. Go to Pebble beach - made up of sand and sea urchin spinicles.

Bar Harbor has a lot of brew pubs with good beer. Some nice restaurants. Not sure that there will be very much open that time of the year.

Off of Bar Harbor are a few islands (Big and Little Cranberry I think they are called) that are worth visiting. You get the mail boat from South Harbor. They are old fishing villages and on one is an old Coast Guard station - it may not be standing any longer.

If the ferry to Nova Scotia is still running you may want to go there for a week. The ferry takes 8 hours. I always wanted to do that, but for 2 weeks!

Expect cold and wind. Snow can be variable. Feb. and March there will be a lot of wind and amazing surf. Be very careful on the rocks - they are very slippery. When I was there last a Yale Law School graduate was on the rocks calling a friend to have her listen to the surf when she was taken by a rogue wave. There was no way to save her......

Mike

[Nathan Potter]

Greg, you lucky dog! I've spent a lot of time throughout that area and really love it, especially the cool afternoon fog that can roll in over the Schoodic peninsula. I'll be roaming that region in Jun and Jul if all goes well. Not familiar with the guide you mentioned but internet searching can yield a lot. Last of Sept and Oct are a nice time to be there because there is some fall color.

Photography depends on what you like to photograph. For me I like to be very selective and focus on parts of the scenery; what I call fragment photography.
At Schoodic point look for the weathered balsam firs among the rocks. On the way in (one way road) check out the spectacular cobble barrier beach on the right. On the way out study the small blueberry barren for brilliant red foliage. Further on go thru Birch harbor and watch out on the right for a very photogenic shack called Wonsquek Harbor, or something to that effect.

In Winter harbor visit my favorite coffee shop and deli (if it's still there) right across from the old general store. Ask how to get to Grindstone neck and there you can photograph the rocks and cobbles. Deal with the black basaltic dike rocks for abstract compositions. The rose mallow shrubs at the shore line are good subjects in the fall with brilliant red and orange fruits. Also nearby Prospect Harbor is worth poking around.

Especially fine is the village of Corea but you'll need to study the outlay for good fishing village shots (although the fishing is about gone). There is some respectable architecture about.

I recommend Mt. Desert Is. especially in the fall when there are fewer tourists. Get to the summit of Cadillac Mtn. and deal with the barrens rocks and vegitation. Later, with luck, there will be some spectacular icecles along the road on the way up. There is a sand beach area on the loop road with some very nice marsh grass worth checking out. As mentioned, downtown Bar Harbor is tourist paradise but there are some nice restaurants about.

Going north from Winter Harbor you'll find two of my favorite places in Gouldsboro. Bartlett Winery (maybe what Michael mentioned) and Darthea Farm. The farm is an organic farm and has a splendid pair of draft horses the are worth photographing.

Further north check out Milbridge and the fish market in town on the east side of the street. The lady often has fresh crab meat from local women who shell it when available. As you drive rte 1 north to Machais look for the spectacularly red blueberry barrens along the road especially in Oct. and Nov.

Well south from Bar Harbor is the Deer Isle penninsula where my ancestors came from.
About the best photogenic town in Maine is Stonington at the tip of the penninsula. It is a must visit for harbor photography. Also in Blue Hill is Terrel Lester photo gallery run by his divorced wife - commercial stuff, but pretty interesting of the area. He currently has a gallery in Taos NM. He also has a book of Maine photographs which is a good guide to area photography.

Hey I'm envious and I've only touched the surface. Congrats.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[Don7x17]

"You will probably be living in former Naval/Coast Guard quarters in Winter Harbor on Schoodic Peninsula. "

>>> with Lighthouse! on the small grounds

"Just north of Winter Harbor are some interesting villages."

>>> Birch Harbor, Prospect Harbor, S and W Gouldsboro, and also go down the adjacent peninsula to Corea. All have that Down-East look and feel.

"Mt. Desert Island will be nice in the winter."

>>> Nice is a relative term... You'll notice that not many snowbirds drive down from Canada to overwinter (they go to Florida or Texas or Arizona where nice is an operative term ;-) . But its nice not to have crowds....

>>>Fall is nice on Schoodic/Mt Desert...when the leaves turn. Winter can be bleak. Fishing villages nearby will be some great snow images. Make sure you have good parka and lined winter boots. You're not in Hudson Valley any longer (or Kansas)

>>> Congrats, you will have fun. You'll make many "in the snow" images....

[Don7x17]

And remember -- that popular old show "Murder She Wrote" which was supposed to take place down in a Down East Mainer fishing village was actually filmed in north of San Francisco in Mendocino, California....where the winters are quite balmy with no snow.

[jackies]

Congratulations Greg. You are very privileged.

You might want to check out the Acadia site on NPS.gov

http://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm

There is alot of information on their site. There are recommended books under the "for teacher" section. Also multimedia presentations and photos on the website.

Good luck and have fun,
Jackie

[Bruce Barlow]

Huge congrats. I'm envious.

Yup, you may never have to leave Schoodic Point, but you may want to. I agree wholeheartedly with everyone else you've heard from about different places to go.

Stonington can be quite nice, especially at low tide.

And don't miss a longer field trip to Pemaquid Point. Spectacular.

Please keep in touch, if you'd like a "photo buddy" for a few days, I'm always up for coming over there from New Hampshire. I typically stay in Ellsworth, with easy access to several places.

All the best on a great opportunity!

[mandoman7]

I have been fortunate enough to have been selected to be an "artist in residence" at Acadia National park this fall (2009). I was pretty sure I had seen a guidebook for the park mentioned on this site that everyone thought was very good. But now that I do a search I cannot find it (I even thought I added it to my Amazon wishlist). Or perhaps too many brain cells have died in the past few years. Any suggestions?

I will be based on Schoodic Point. According to the park staff I won't ever want to leave that area. And previous posts on this site seem to confirm that. But I would still like to do some research so that I make the most of the opportunity.

I spent a few summers on an island near Damariscotta, and always had an incredible time. The first year, there was a wedding on the island and I took lengthy series of somewhat surreptitious b/w's and presented a nice portfolio months later to the family, an influencial "mainer" family who harvested lobsters. The following year I was treated like a returning hero and ushered around on their boats to some great locations. In most of that region there's a division between the local indigenous population, and the vacationing professionals from Boston, etc.. If you can somehow make a connection with the locals, it can be not only good for photos, but pretty educational. Takes some diplomacy and empathy.

The island life is a big part of the Maine experience, and I had come to the belief that you had to either have access to a boat or have some good relationships with those that do. Something to think about...

My second suggestion is that you take some time to look at the work of Eliot Porter. He has number of coffee table books out, there's probably a copy in your local library. His views of the scenery and small details of really touch on the particular character of that intriguing part of the country. There are some things happening there that you won't see in other parts of the country...

JY

[Bill_1856]

Greg, one Autumn I ran the Medical Clinic at Southwest Harbor, but work left me little time to explore.
How did you get the "artist in residence" job? I'd like to apply, and have a chance to see all the stuff that I missed that year. It is the East Coast equivilant of Point Lobos!

[Greg Miller]

Thanks for all the information everyone. There really is a wealth of information and experience on this site.

I finally tracked down the book I was thinking of: The Plein Air Artist Guide to Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island (http://www.lulu.com/content/903810) (sold through LuLu).

[Greg Miller]

Greg, one Autumn I ran the Medical Clinic at Southwest Harbor, but work left me little time to explore.
How did you get the "artist in residence" job? I'd like to apply, and have a chance to see all the stuff that I missed that year. It is the East Coast equivilant of Point Lobos!

Hi Bill. Acadia has a submission process once a year. This year's deadline was January 15. All the information is available on Acadia's NPS (http://www.nps.gov/acad/supportyourpark/artistinresidence.htm) site.

It is pretty competitive. Acadia is the most prominent AIR program to the millions of people in the northeast so Acadia sees a lot of applications.