FAVORITES!
Back when I was doing upwards of 25 shows a year peddling my art, I was often asked which lighthouse is your favorite. That's a hard question for me to answer and I guess my answer would depend upon what happened at each light when I was there photographing. To me it's all about the experience. And you can experience some of those structures by clicking on the links in the text.
I have been in Maine three times photographing these structures which are so much stitched into the fabric of our maritime history. And of course Portland Head comes to mind first because of it's wide popularity and photo-ability. Hey a new word! It's probably the most photographed light in the country. My Maine experiences always followed my New Hampshire fishing trip. You have to go back a couple of years of blogs to find stories about that.
I have been and photographed 2/3 of the lights on the East Coast. That's something like 230 plus destinations. The most fun, I think, is in just finding each one in the first place. Sounds strange but you can be only two city blocks away from one of these structures and still not be able to see it. Even though it can be seen at sea for up to sixteen miles. My source of information about these lights is a very thick paperback book by Kenneth G. Kochel called "America's Atlantic Coast Lighthouses--A travelers Guide". The book is 486 pages in length and it cover just about every light in the east. The only problem is that when it says to turn left at the Exon station right next to the general store...They are both gone! My copy was written in 1994 and time does have a habit of moving on. But it's the search that's fun.
In Maine, you can go right down the list of favorites. The fly fisherman on Nubble light in York comes to mind because I would loved to have been behind the fly rod as well as the camera. Owls Head light outside of Rockland was another unique trip. I photographed that one both from the water and land. Bass Harbor Head is tough to photograph from any angle other than the one every gets because of it's location on the rocks. Pemaquid light for it's reflection pool and some of the island lights like Brown's Head. When visiting Brown's Head I mentioned to one of the locals about how hard it was to find because they had no street signs in town. Answer...."Don't need them, we all know where we are!" Sigh! Maybe Curtis Island but because it is the wonderful town of Camden, parts of which remind me of the Village in NYC. Marshall Point another favorite for no other reason that the location and front porch of the keeper's house. So many photographs. But more important. So many memories.
In Maine, you can go right down the list of favorites. The fly fisherman on Nubble light in York comes to mind because I would loved to have been behind the fly rod as well as the camera. Owls Head light outside of Rockland was another unique trip. I photographed that one both from the water and land. Bass Harbor Head is tough to photograph from any angle other than the one every gets because of it's location on the rocks. Pemaquid light for it's reflection pool and some of the island lights like Brown's Head. When visiting Brown's Head I mentioned to one of the locals about how hard it was to find because they had no street signs in town. Answer...."Don't need them, we all know where we are!" Sigh! Maybe Curtis Island but because it is the wonderful town of Camden, parts of which remind me of the Village in NYC. Marshall Point another favorite for no other reason that the location and front porch of the keeper's house. So many photographs. But more important. So many memories.
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