Maine Lighthouses Workshop September 2024
In September 2024, Lerro Photography went to Maine for a lighthouse photo workshop for the second time this year. This photo workshop was geared to very experienced photographers who were capable of embarking on overnight boat rides and photographing at all hours of the night. During the photo workshop, we took three boat rides to remote islands to photograph lighthouses at nighttime.
Halfway Rock Lighthouse
2 weeks before our workshop was to start, we were given permission by the owner of Halfway Rock Lighthouse to not only go out to the island, but also spend the night in the lighthouse, which has been lovingly restored as a private family getaway. Without hesitation, we took him up on the offer. Due to wind forecasts and tide levels, we only had a small window of opportunity to make it over to the island. Luckily for us, the winds and sea conditions held out and we were able to land on Halfway Rock. Once we landed, the owner gave us a quick walkthrough of the lighthouse and the grounds, and then we were on our own for the next 24 hours. The 76-foot tall granite tower featured 3 levels of bunk rooms as well as a watchroom and the lantern room. The attached boat house contains all the machinery as well as a living room and kitchen. The island itself is only several acres of exposed rock, inhabited by seals and birds.
After resting up for the afternoon, we were geared up for sunset and a great night of photography. The skies were clear, and we were able to capture some amazing photos of the Milky Way as it rose over the lighthouse. The tide rises and falls nearly 12 feet, so we had to be careful where we set up in the dark.
The next morning, we woke up extra early to capture dawn with the lighthouse optic still illuminated. After sunrise and morning shots, we packed up our belongings, and took a boat back to the mainland by 11 AM.
Little River Lighthouse:
On Maine’s Downeast coast, Little River Lighthouse has been marking the 15-acre Little River Island near Cutler since 1876. In 1975, the lighthouse was automated, and the Coast Guard abandoned the island. In 2000, the American Lighthouse Foundation began restoring the lighthouse and eventually started renting out the keeper’s house to the public. The seasonal resident of the lighthouse, Terry Rowden, was actually a US Coast Guard keeper at the lighthouse in the 1970s. For many years, he has served as the caretaker of the lighthouse and island for the American Lighthouse Foundation.
During our photo workshop, we made reservations to have Terry take us over by boat and stay in the keeper’s house for the night so that we could take night photos of the lighthouse. For the second night in a row, we had clear skies and we were able to capture some great Milky Way shots. Aleah Augustine and I also dressed up as a lighthouse keeper family and posed for some photos with the lighthouse behind us.
Petit Manan Lighthouse:
Located several miles out at sea, Penit Manan is Maine’s second tallest lighthouse. The island of Petit Manan is located several miles offshore and is part of the Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge, which is only accessible to the public from September to April, due to seasonal closures to protect nesting and migrating birds. Accessing this lighthouse during the small window where the island was open in good weather was the primary reason why I set up this photo workshop at this time of year.
With continued good luck and great weather on our side, we departed the harbor en route to Petit Manan. Along the way, we were able to photograph two other lighthouses: Narraguagus (Pond Island) Lighthouse and Nash Island Lighthouse.
Once we arrived at Petit Manan, we had to disembark from our main boat and into a dinghy to travel the last hundred feet to the boat ramp. After everyone was on the island, we were able to enjoy sunset and set up for our night shots. As the skies got darker, the Milky Way appeared right behind the lighthouse. For the next hour, we enjoyed photographing the lighthouse as the Milky Way slowly moved across the skies. Our final shot was looking north. To our surprise, the Northern Lights were faintly visible in the skies. Once we finished shooting, we took the dinghy back to the main boat and traveled an hour back to port.
Other Lighthouses:
Friday morning we shot sunrise at West Quoddy Head Lighthouse. From there, we traveled into Canada to photograph the Head Harbour Light, also known as East Quoddy Head. By midday, our luck with the weather finally started to run out and clouds had rolled in. After three straight nights of clear skies, we couldn’t complain. Since the weather forecast didn’t look good for night photography, we opted to change up our schedules and head south. We found ourselves at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse for sunset. We did get some openings in the clouds, and we were able to take a few photos with the Milky Way.
On Saturday, we completely changed our schedule and headed south out of Maine. We took some early morning photographs of the Thacher Island Twin Lights off Cape Ann, Massachusetts, and then went to Boston to take a boat tour operated by the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation area to photograph several lighthouses in Boston Harbor. Once back on land, the photo workshop was over.
