9-11-08 - A day of reflection

The past several years, I've used September 11 as a day of personal reflection. I specifically plan not to do anything in particular, but instead spend the day outdoors, peacefully thinking about what's happening in my life.

Doesn't matter what the weather is - I still go off on my day's journey, never knowing what the day will bring. It's my clear-thinking time, with no limitations - and considering how 9-11 initially started, it's definitely an opposite to all the violence and pain that sad day brought to so many thousands and thousands of people.

Today started with a lobster roll at my favorite carry-out shack. It wasn't cheap at $16, but it was packed full of just lobster, no fillers, and it was on a perfectly grilled Nissen bun. I meant to take a photo of it for stock, but was so hungry I forgot about it until it was three-quarters eaten, which definitely wouldn't have made for a good photo.

Then I wandered the shoreline, heading for one of my favorite think-places. ( I have several of them.) The first photo is of the Rachel Carson tidal pool down in Chamberlain, a regular haunt for this author many years ago, and named after her in 1970 .

This tidal pool is so peaceful, especially if you're lucky enough to be the only one there. I avoid it on weekends when the tourists are there, also in the early summer when school groups use it for their field trips just before school lets out.

Other times, there's usually only one or two folks there. One day I sat there for hours, watching the tide roll in, hunting for sea glass, loving the solitude, getting a really sore butt from sitting on rock.

Today the skies were gorgeous, the temps perfect at 70 degrees. There was a guy in a wet suit trying to scuba dive just beyond the pool, but he kept slipping on the seaweed and rocks. I finally gave up trying to shoot him, as every time I had him in focus he fell down again. I was beginning to feel guilty, like I was jinxing him.

The second shot is a few miles away, near New Harbor, off a backroad the locals use to get to a small bay of ocean, granite ledge and trees. Another great place with few people - today there were just a couple of artists, painting.

Don't know if I came to any magical conclusions today. But it was good for my head, and I came home feeling calm, serene, quietly content.

The Blue Angels Let Me Down!!!

Something's missing in this photo.

It sounded like such a wonderful opportunity. Local tv news stations reported that the Blue Angels Navy flying team had come into Maine a few days early before their scheduled show this weekend at Brunswick Naval Station, and would be doing a special fly-by near three different Maine lighthouses.

It isn't everyday one has the chance to shoot the magnificent Blue Angels low flying past the most historic lighthouse in Maine. The Pemaquid Lighthouse is so important to Maine history that it is featured on the new Maine quarters.

So I headed down to the lighthouse, a 30 mile trip, even got there a bit early so I could pick a favorite spot. A hundred people were there, but it's a big place and there was plenty of room. The estimated time of arrival was 10:30 - 11:30 am, not particularly great for lighting, but beggars can't be choosers, so I just waited and played with various settings.

And waited. And waited. Several hundred more people showed up. Families, tourist, dogs (with owners in tow), seniors, mothers with babies, people in wheelchairs, just about every kind of human you can imagine had arrived. I found that it was not only getting really crowded, but that I needed to stand in one place to reserve the spot for my shot; I even moved a couple feet in various directions, otherwise my spot would be filled with a zillion people. After all, a free Blue Angels show was a really big deal for rural Maine, even if would be a 30 second show.

Of course, I had no way of knowing if the Blue Angels would be flying by the lighthouse at the specific angle I needed to get the shot. But I'd carefully chosen a place that covered the lighthouse up close yet still allowed a lot of sky, and then kept my fingers crossed.

After two hours, still no Blue Angels. The officially designated hour had come and gone, and all those people were still patiently waiting. Toddlers were tired and whiny, dogs were having spats, and people were becoming grumpy and unfriendly. Finally, a man with a megaphone came out of the lighthouse's guardhouse, and politely announced that the Blue Angels would not be coming, something about a fuel issue. (And then he quickly ducked back into the guardhouse, probably anticipating things being thrown at him . . . )

A few boos and hisses, plus a lot of very disappointed commentary - and then everyone rushed for their cars. The weather was beautiful, and if the Angels weren't coming, they knew they all had other places to be.

So now I have a whole lot of test pix of the lighthouse, but no Blue Angels.

Dear Angels - you let me (and hundreds of fans) down!!!!

Photo of the Day - August 1, 2008

This is the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, in the little lobster fishing town of New Harbor, Maine.

Standing on a huge granite ledge above the edge of the ocean, the lighthouse is a working light with a more-than-hundred-year-old Fresnell lens that can be seen for miles. Inside the adjoining building is a lobster fishermen's museum, a wonderful place to learn about the life of a working professional lobsterman.

This photo (and other Maine photos) can be purchased from my portfolio on Dreamstime - go ahead and take a look!