cape cod & maine coast

[Terry Hayden]

Greetings all,

I'm going to be going to the Brewster, Ma., area in
a few weeks. While I'll be mainly attending a conference,
I plan on escaping for an afternoon or two to do some
shooting.

Any suggestions for old buildings, docks, etc. or maybe
some interesting salt marshes?

From there I'm going to head up to Maine for a couple of
days. The primary site for photographing up there is
Pemaquid point at low tide.

Any suggested for shooting areas en route would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Terry
www.terryhayden.com

[Louie Powell]

Point of Rocks beach in Brewster is nice a low tide. Also Paine's Creek Beach. The Brewster Grist Mill is interesting - unfortunately, the herring run was in late April so you will have missed that. Of course, the Brewster General Store is a must-see.

Rock Harbor in Orleans is very interesting. I have several good negatives from that area. Don't overlook the buildings to the right as you are driving in. There is also a large church at Rock Harbor that I suspect could be interesting - but I haven't been in it.

Further out Rt. 6 in Eastham is Fort Hill. There is an old sea captain's house there that is interesting.

Chatham is a nice place to walk around, and you may find some images there. If you wander in that direction, I suggest going to one (or both) of the piers. The town pier on Bridge Street is more rustic and there will be more boats to work with. The fish pier on Shore Road Blvd is a great place to watch commercial fishing boats unloading their catch. You can tell they are at work by all the sea gulls flying around.

Wellfleet is an interesting little town and may have some interesting opportunities, but the photographic jewel of the Cape is Provincetown. The light there is amazing, its quaint, its a little off-kilter - just a fun place to walk around. And some fabulous restaurants.

Maine - Pemaquid Light is nice. The problem there is parking - there's not a lot there. Yes, there is a big lot, but it's reserved for customers of the restaurant next door. Ideally, the best time to get there is early in the morning because of the fog.

My preference is Owl's Head light. It's harder to find (neither is all that easy), but there is parking, there is a nice path with lots of photographic opportunities. Admittedly, the area isn't as rocky as Pemaquid, but there's still a lot to work with

While you are in that area, you might consider going a couple hours further north to Fort Knox in Bucksport. This fabulous old fortification is in amazingly good condition, and offers lots of opportunities for photography.

[Bruce Barlow]

Pemaquid is outstanding. It's worth getting thre early if parking's a problem. There's also a trail from Wells to Oqunquit (can't remember the name) that's easily accessible and lovely. Not as far up the coast as Pemaquid.

[Louie Powell]

Pemaquid is outstanding. It's worth getting thre early if parking's a problem. There's also a trail from Wells to Oqunquit (can't remember the name) that's easily accessible and lovely. Not as far up the coast as Pemaquid.

Marginal Walk (or maybe it's Marginal Way).

[Mark Sampson]

Scargo Tower in Dennis, right next to Brewster, offers a rare (on the Cape) high view.

[Brian Vuillemenot]

The Cape Cod National Seashore, on the upper arm of the Cape (between Welfleet and Provincetown) offers beaches less overrun with tourists and several nice lighthouses.

[Bruce Barlow]

Marginal Walk (or maybe it's Marginal Way).

Like he said. Nice place.

[Toyon]

Maine is really too far away from the Cape for a day trip (considering traffic), unless you leave very early and return very late. If you are looking for natural landscape areas on the Cape, check the National Seashore website for walking trails. They tend to provide areas of view that are wilder and more dramatic than what you usually see from the road. Whenever you can, stay off of Rt. 6 and travel by 6A. There isn't much "old Cape" built areas left, but try Pond Village in Truro and walk through Provincetown, particularly away from the center area. The perspective from the beach and on paths leading to/from it can be rewarding. Also, Woods Hole can be interesting for the fishing and oceanographic infrastructure. Take the slower ferry to Martha's Vineyard (Oak Bluffs) for a great view of the shoreline and the Victorian cottage colony.

[venchka]

Maine: Tenants Harbor/Marshall Point Lighthouse and surrounding area. I only had small format cameras when I was there. The place deserves large format.

[jp]

I haven't spent a lot of time on the coast of MA, but Gloucester and Rockport are nice interesting places to visit.

In Maine, where I am, the prettiest places are not always on the well traveled path. I'd suggest going down every peninsula you can. T-harbor/Marshal Point are only one such peninsula. You might travel up to the midcoast area on day 1, spend day 2 on monhegan island (on foot) or take the ferry to a penobscot bay island, or travel the midcoast including the lighthouses and fort knox, and then spend day 3 touring downeast, or some variation there of. Perhaps save downeast or a section of Maine for another trip.

[Nathan Potter]

Of course it all depends on what you like to shoot. I will say that the rocks at Pemaquid light are very unusual and worth framing with the lighthouse. Real downeast ME is for me the most intriguing and I'd pick Stonington harbor on the Deer Isle peninsular as a prime spot. Further up it's Corea harbor and certainly Schoodic Point as prime areas.

Rarely mentioned however is Sabbethday Lake Shaker village, a very interesting place architecturally but slightly inland from the mid coast.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[Steve M Hostetter]

Baxter State park $ 25.00 entrance fee but for Moose & highest pt. in Maine,,, and then a drive down (1)