The Maine Event, Part Four (Yes, four. Don't argue!)

Ah, springtime in Maine. Winter is reluctant to let go. Above, [Maris] got by far the best shot of the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, capturing cloud detail that I, in an effort to lighten the dark structure, missed completely. She rules.

[Maris] also captured this long view, looking up through the drizzle at Owls Head Light. The site is said to be haunted, and one of the pieces of evidence to that effect is this old wooden staircase. When the fog rolls in, the ghost's footprints appear on the damp steps. Cool!

Two of my shots of Owls Head Light. It was misty and we had the place to ourselves, making it just that much more spooky and awesome.

Two frames from a rainy and isolated Marshall Point Light. The weather during the middle of this week-long trip gave us a new appreciation of the need for lighthouses, back in the days before GPS. Some of these things, and the rocks of which they warn mariners, were invisible until we were right on top of them.

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse - by [Maris].

... by Joe...

... by [Maris]. Old bell and a seriously still-functioning foghorn (ah say, ah say, ah say)!

... and two more by Joe, who ventured down onto the freezing, slippery and wind-blown rocks below the light. Must revisit this point when the sun is shining. It, like most of Maine's coast, is sublime.

More to come - wait til you see the "down east" Maine stuff - the sun came back...

Maine, Interrupted

Okay, apologies for the month away from pictures and such. National Novel Writing Month 2010 is over (I "won" again!), and I'm attempting to remember what to do. I also have a nice new JOB, so my way-too-long-established "unemployed layabout" routine is being replaced with a new and vastly-improved way of life. First, back to the Maine vacation/photo excursion I took with [Maris] in 2004. Above, Pumpkin Island Lighthouse.

Two shots of Dice Head Lighthouse. We love Memorial Day in Maine!

Church! NO, we didn't go inside. [Maris] shot it because of its funky roof design.

Two more [Maris] shots. The bottom one is a row of real, live lobster pots. We don't even particularly like lobster, but we hear it's kind of a big deal, up there.

We weren't hungry at the time, or we would have HAD to check out a place that advertises this way. Another [Maris] shot.

One more [Maris] composition - Fort Point Lighthouse. Square lighthouses. Meh.

I took a shot from the other side, and it's still kind of meh. But it's a lighthouse and it's in Maine, so it's still cool.

Curtis Island Light. By the time we got home, the spot from which I took this shot had probably become a house. Now, good luck getting anywhere near this one by land. Still - is cute, non?

Thanks for your patience. More to come!

Maine 2004 - Part Two: Fjords??

Back to our 2004 Maine sojourn, already in progress... The first two shots are of Prospect Harbor Lighthouse, which is said to be haunted!

I have to assume that this house has a ghost or two in it. Great view, though.

One of many Maine lighthouses that can only be shot from the mainland using long lenses. (sigh) This is Winter Island Lighthouse, via my 500mm mirror lens.

Islands in Frenchman Bay, near Bar Harbor.

Two frames of Somes Sound, which is *almost* a fjord. It's so close to fitting the official definition of a fjord that to us, it is and will always be a fjord.

Three shots of Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. It took creative framing and lots of patience to get tourist-free photos here, but we're nothing if not persistent.

More to come. Not sure when. Thanks for coming.
Seeya!

High Iron and Low Paws - Magnolia, WV

We interrupt the 2004 sojourn through Maine for this not-at-all important rail fan post... Last Thursday, my outrageously intrepid little old Chevy and I felt our way along the back "roads" of the Magnolia, WV area once again - in search of new vantage points for shooting the action on the former B&O. We got more than we had bargained for. Above, the westbound container train Q139 approaches the Magnolia Cut...

... and enters the Stuart Tunnel. I've heard that CSX will be doing some major work on the four tunnels in the Magnolia-Paw Paw area, enlarging them to accommodate trains like this one, but with double-stacks of containers. From a business perspective, I get it, but it will be strange to see these 100-year old tunnels "modernized."

Amtrak's train #30, the eastbound "Capitol Limited," flies past the venerable (and also soon-to-be-replaced) signals east of Stuart Tunnel.

Under an improving sky, this is an eastbound local headed for Hancock, MD.

Minutes later, a westbound rumbled through, echoing nicely around the Potomac highlands.

I like tankers. What can I say?

Okay. Here's how this went: I had spent the morning being extra noisy, acutely aware that I was in bear country at a time when groggy, grumpy black bears are fattening up and preparing for their long winter naps. I was also extra-careful where I stepped, knowing there are Copperheads (maybe even a stray Timber Rattler or two) in these hills. Then, I saw an old dude and his dog, and heard numerous vehicles crunching their way up and down the dirt and gravel "roads," so I relaxed. An hour later, I saw this critter scoot out of the woods, across the clearing and tracks, then bound into the brush, headed toward the river.

My first thought was "dog," but it was not moving like a dog. I zoomed in and decided that it was a fox, apparently with its tail cut off (probably by that stupid hunting dog in "Bugs Bunny"). Even when it bounded, catlike, into the thick grass, I was oblivious as to its identity. Only when I got home and took a closer look at my pictures did I realize how close I had been to a wild Bobcat. Had I known at the time, I would have tried to get a better shot of it. I also would have needed a change of shorts.

Before heading home, I stopped at Magnolia to try to catch a westbound in afternoon sun. I did not, but this smoking lash-up of five different model locomotives roaring out of the Graham Tunnel and across the Potomac with the eastbound Q401 in tow was a nice finalé.

Ciao, Magnolia. I'm sure when I visit next Fall, it will be a very different place.

This concludes the rude rail fan interruption. We will rejoin our 2004 Maine trip next time...

The Maine Event - Part One: We can see Canada from our car!

In June of 2004, [Maris] and I looked at the weather map, decided that the forecast for Maine looked better than the ones for the Outer Banks or the eastern Great Lakes, so north and east we went, making it from Maryland to Bangor on the first day. The next morning found us heading east on Rt. 9 through moose country (photos above and below), on our way to Calais.

Dead trees!

"It's enough to destroy a young moose's faith!"

Look! Canada! This little light is in Saint Stephen, New Brunswick - just across the river from Calais, Maine.

Seagulls on the U.S. side, awaiting visits from their Canadian relatives.

Lubec Channel Light - Near Lubec, ME.

Mulholland Point Lighthouse, near Welshpool, New Brunswick.

Two shots of the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse (top one by [Maris], bottom one is mine) - Quoddy Head State Park, ME.

Working boats (not working right now). Near Quoddy Head State Park, ME.

Thanks for stopping by. LOTS more to come from this trip to the land of many, many lighthouses.

In Defense Of Double-Rainbow Guy

By now, I'm sure most of us have enjoyed a hearty chuckle at the expense of "Double-Rainbow Guy" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI), but on our recent 10-year anniversary visit to Kill Devil Hills, NC, [Maris] and I were reminded of just what it is that makes the D-R Guys of the world lose it. Our double rainbow wasn't quite as strong as the one in his infamous video, but my trusty D-80 and I were able to capture a few images of the "main" rainbow. Yes, it did manage to go "full-on," and stay that way, for a few minutes, and yes - words and even these photographs simply do not do it justice. Above, one of the cool aspects of the phenomenon was the reflection of the rainbow itself on the surface of the Atlantic.

18mm wide-angle shots - still not wide enough to capture the 'bow end-to-end.

North end.

North end, zoomed!

South half.

South end - zoomed!

There's your peek at 2010 material. Next, back to the film files for more early-to-mid 2000s stuff...