Thoughts from Behind the Viewfinder
- Don Toothaker
- Mar 6
- 4 min read
Notes from the Field: Mid Coast Maine
Last weekend, for my third photography workshop of the year, a group joined me along mid-coast Maine for a photo adventure featuring stops at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, a few fishing harbors, local scenes, and the Wiscasset, Waterville, and Farmington Steam Railroad. We had a weekend full of color, tones, meaningful conversations, and great image-making. Our home for the weekend was the elegant Bradley Inn (www.bradleyinn.com), where the hosts, Laura and Tony, ensured we were welcomed, comfortable, and well-fed. More French Toast with wild Maine blueberries for breakfast, Cuban Picadillo for dinner, and Lemon Posset for dessert, please!
Using the elegant, relaxing Inn as inspiration, my challenge and encouragement to the group was to slow down, spend more time on chosen subjects with less running around, and find detailed, storytelling scenes. This theme will be something I work on with my groups as much as possible throughout the year.
For every photography adventure, I am a firm believer that everyone needs a creative “warm-up” before diving into the heavy stuff. Not knowing whether some attendees had not picked up a camera in a while, or were weary from travel, or nervous in a group, I like to find smaller locations that force attendees to work harder at finding compositions while re-associating themselves with their camera and their intent.
We started in South Bristol Harbor, which is a small but busy fishing harbor
Roaming the docks and side streets, I encouraged everyone to narrow down their vision and look for captivating detail - look into the scene, not at it
This exercise always generates good questions and conversations, which continued for the rest of the evening over
Friday sunrise was at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, a familiar location
First light was “okay” but nothing spectacular due to a clear sky
Given the lack of drama, we focused on smaller details and smaller scenes
Friday afternoon, after a great breakfast at the Inn, we explored Shaw’s Wharf and Back Cove in New Harbor, Maine. Both areas are small, but they typically produce good creative opportunities with an abundance of textures, colors, tones, and stories
Again, we sought smaller details
Lots of fishing harbor details such as ropes, bouys, boats, textures, and more
A casual walk to Back Cove let us talk and seek good light and shadows
Friday night dinner was at an all-time favorite restaurant in Wiscasset. Montsweag never disappoints! The vibe is fantastic, there is always good music, and the food is awesome.
Saturday morning, we left for Friendship Harbor early. Forsaking sunrise, we made a beeline for the town pier. Once at the Harbor, we ensured it was okay to walk the docks and photograph with some local dock workers. A local lobsterman, the husband of one of our Hunt’s Photo Education community (thanks Eugene and Kimmie!), let us onto a “closed” pier. We photographed along the pier and inside the fish house - good stuff! Then one of our group (thank you Deb!!) began talking to 4 other lobstermen unloading their boat. Suddenly, we were taking portraits of them and being let into a closed-off dock warehouse that I had always wanted to get into. One man's junk is a photographer's treasure.
Once again, the emphasis was on details and taking our time
We walked the docks slowly and worked on many different small scenes
Several great conversations about color, tone, subject development, and a sense of place
For me, getting into places I/we had not been before was great - and going about it the right way, by getting permission or being invited, was even greater
the portraits were essential as the docks mean nothing without the lobstermen
A nice ride back to the Inn for a fantastic breakfast, a short break, and then off to the WW & F (www.wwfry.com) railroad in Wiscasset. At the railroad, one of the volunteers, who is always so good to my classes (thanks Ed!), led us around, explained many functional and operational aspects of the railway, and opened up buildings for us to explore and photograph. After discussion, I encouraged all of us to focus on details of the trains, the cars, the tools, and the evidence of hard work with the thoroughness of a photojournalist.
Every place or operation consists of many moving parts. Being able to take our time and photograph smaller details was challenging and rewarding
People really invested time in finding details they liked
Even though we did not photograph the train running, we created some great behind the scenes images
We spent three slow, fun hours roaming the railway, with everyone getting a great feel for all that goes on there
After dinner, a great editing session and discussion on the features of Lightroom
Superb Saturday night dinner at the Inn with more great conversations. Everyone really appreciated the quiet, calm setting of the Inn as well as the ample downtime to enjoy the space. The downtime allowed for group discussion and personal reflection on the goals from the weekend.
All in all, it was a great weekend of photography, camaraderie, comfort, and using a slower, less hurried approach to achieve our creative goals. We will be back again!
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