Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse #2

It’s the first of the month, and that means a new Print of the Month. May’s print was taken in October 2019, at the Bass Harbor Head lighthouse in Acadia. To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of the lighthouse. It gets a lot of attention in Acadia though. And why shouldn’t it? It’s one of the most well-situated lighthouses you’ll ever see, perched atop the rocky granite coast at the bottom of Mount Desert Island.

But for me, I see lighthouses as easy subjects to photograph. It’s really hard not to take a bad photo of one. There’s little challenge to getting a decent image- you point your camera and you’ll get a nice picture. Picture postcard perfect. And therein lies the issue for me. I don’t like postcard perfect pictures. They’re too ‘sweet.’ They don’t show anything of the character of a place.

The other problem with photographing the Bass Harbor Head lighthouse is that the best time of day is at sunset- the western skies can, if you’re lucky, fill with beautiful pink, orange, purple and yellow clouds. And everyone knows it. The crowds at that time of day can become unbearable. So, for the last few years, I’ve avoided the lighthouse.

Then last year, several of my workshop attendees really wanted to photograph it. I kept telling them how crazy the crowds were (I’ve seen tempers flare almost to the point of fights breaking out), how steep the steps down to the rocks were, and how the sunset often doesn’t pan out very well. But then one day at lunch, I made the decision to check out the lighthouse once more.

The conditions were pretty bland for photography– patchy low clouds with little sun and a steady breeze. But I thought, if I could shoot the lighthouse as a black and white image, I might have more success. It just wasn’t working as a color image- there was no real color to speak of. I also decided to slow everything down and shoot with a ten-stop neutral density filter. This would extend my shutter speed to twenty seconds and put some movement in the drifting clouds, as well as give the water below some more interest.

I don’t like to over-process my images after a shoot. But I do allow myself some more leeway and artistic license with my black and white images. After all, black and white is already removed from reality, and I spent years dodging and burning my black and white prints in the darkroom. I added a vignette to draw the eye back towards the white siding of the lighthouse and increased the contrast to make up for the lack of any real lighting.

I’m pleased with the result. And in the end, the other photographers in my group went away happy with their images too. All in all, it was a good outing. I’m just not sure when I’ll be back again though…

Each month I’m featuring a different print at a discounted price and will choose an open edition print to sell in the 14-inch size. Prints will be hand mounted and overlaid with a hand cut window mat. FREE shipping anywhere in the US (sorry but international orders are not possible at this time due to the high cost of shipping and customs charges).

Prints are matted on 16x20” mat board, but not framed. If you’re purchasing a frame to hang your print on the wall, 16x20” frames are a standard size and should be readily available.

I will announce the new print at the beginning of each month and begin taking orders then. All prints will be printed near the end of the month. When the month is over, the prints will no longer be sold at this price.

The introductory price is $99.95.