Thursday, January 15, 2009

15th day of the year of the owl pellett


Getting cold here in South Carolina, but not as cold as the northeast. Thirty seven this morning and going to make fifty later. Tomorrow to be colder, so today I will include one of the better lighthouse images in my library. The rest of the lighthouses can of course be found in the website. This is the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse in Maine and is kinda classic photography. It embodies a good subject, combined with vertical lines leading the eye to the subject (the striation in the rocks), and a secondary image in the reflection pool. I must admit that the genius of this shot is not my own. Whenever I go into a state to shoot the lights, I try to buy a local book with images of each light. That's where I got the lead for the angle of this shot. The reflection pool was in the book and I looked for the angle when I got there. This way I am never at a loss as to which specific light I shot.

I photographed the Maine lights over the course of two years, travelling in the spring of each year. I, along with the same five men, go on a fishing trip to Lake Winnepasaukee in New Hampshire at the end of April. We have done it for over 35 years, but that's another story. I spent the week fishing and then took another week to go over to Maine to shoot the lights.

Pemaquid Point is at the end of a neck of land between rivers, these necks define the Maine coast. Pemaquid is south and a little east of Augusta and about 2/3 of the way up the coast. This lighthouse is one of the ones you think of when you visualize the rocky Maine coastline.

Old Route One is the most scenic highway on the east coast and of course one of the oldest roads in the country extending from Maine to Florida. From Route One in Damariscotta one takes Rt. 130 south to Pemaquid point. The light stands on the tip of Pemaquid Point which is at the west side of Muscongus Bay.

The first light at this location was built in the 1824-27 period and was made of undressed stone with a lime mortar mixed with fresh water. The top was then a soapstone slab upon which the light room was constructed. The whole thing cost the government $1,395 but didn't last long. The mortar gave out and by 1835 was replaced with the current tower. Amazingly the number of people who have seen this photograph at various art shows and exclaimed...."Hey I/we have been there". It is out of the way and not easy to get to, but allot of people have been there. If you have not, I suggest you do so. It is a great location, but as with all lighthouses the trick to photographing them is getting the shot when there are no people around. Takes patience.

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