hello [sharks]

 most of my life, i never had to think of sharks. then i moved to the east coast and now i need to keep track of them.

now when i first moved here, everyone said sharks don't come this far north, but i had my doubts. i've seen jaws, i think i know what i'm talking about.  so i downloaded a shark tracker.  low and behold not shortly after moving here, sharks were starting to be seen off the coast of maine.  unfortunately, there has even been a fatal shark attack.  this all being said, i check my shark tracking app weekly.

how crazy was it that when i checked it this week, the boat that does the tagging of the sharks was in casco bay!  i immediately went to go see it. not only to see it in person, but to say a little thank you to this organization for keeping an eye on these sharks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

foggy, foggy [evening]

a foggy evening was a brief reminder that summer will soon be ending.

maine vougue

i'll be honest, sometimes maine pisses me off.  the entire state photographs well.  it's like one of those lucky people who take great photos in any situation or outfit.

keep in mind this is coming from a guy born and raised in kansas.  a beautiful state in it's own right, but a state that makes you work for a great pic of her.  kansas has the ability to take breathtaking photos, but you usually need some dramatic lighting such as one of its world famous sunsets. kansas also has to be wearing a good season, usually looking best in late summer or autumn, but also dangerously beautiful in a late spring storm attire.  kansas is minimalistic, she forces you to focus on other items such as composition, texture or contrast. in the right photographer hands, kansas can be absolutely stunning.

now take maine, strutting down the runway all confident with her rocky seaside coastline, lighthouses, endless foliage, mountain vistas, wildlife, ocean views and cobble stone streets running through quaint historic new england villages.  she looks great in all kinds of light and seasons.  maine is the type of state that can be photographed unaware by the paparazzi wearing sweatpants and bean boots, stuffing her face with a lobster roll and still look gorgeous.

what got me started on this rant was a photograph i took recently of the pemiquid point lighthouse.  i walked down the coast, pointed my camera back to the lighthouse and got a beautiful shot.  as happy as i was with the picture, i'm very aware that a drunk monkey could have captured the same thing.  maine is gorgeous, that's all there is to it.

as much as i enjoy trying to capture maine in different and unique ways, i'll admit, sometimes i miss trying to make that little sunflower leaning against the wall look beautiful.

two gorgeous states with their beauty captured in different ways.

winter [light]

wanting to capture the portland headlight during a snow storm led me to my first time photographing a subject in really nasty weather.  i was not well prepared.  lessons learned; bring warmer clothes, bring a thermos of coffee, double check and make sure your tripod is working, bring a cover for your camera, bring lens cleaner and lastly....wear shoes meant for walking on the ice.  falling and busting your knee two steps out of your car makes for an awful time.  all that being said, i was happy with the final pics.  hopefully i'll have another chance to capture this icon again this winter season.

the [cape] escape

being new to the area, there are many three hour road trips i could take and not have a clue what i would find.  last weekend my fiancee and i took one of those three hour trips to visit cape code.  we were attending a wedding of a friend but took time on either side of that event to explore the cape.  i could go on and on about how i'm still blown away with the amount of history there is here on the east coast and how looking out at the sea is still an incredible experience for me, but by now you all get it. so for this post i'll just hope the pictures speak for themselves.

side note, this was a trip were i purposely brought my dslr camera which has been absent in my life the past few years.  i absolutely love the instant social gratification the iphone gives you, but in a world filled with camera pics, the warmth and feeling of a better camera is priceless.

i'm curious if anyone else can tell the difference.

[home] away from [home] away from [home]

there have been places in this world i've traveled to for the first time and for some unknown reason they felt like home.

ouray, colorado
manhattan, kansas
san diego, california
portland, oregan
austin, texas

and now...

boothbay, maine

it's a hard feeling to describe, how someplace can just *feel* like home, but as i look over the cities on my list, i know it has something to do with expectations, first impressions and instant memories.

as a kid growing up in kansas, colorado is a magical place. drive just eight hours and you're in a whole new world.  i couldn't wait to visit ouray, colorado as a kid.  i was told we would be staying in an old hotel in a secluded mountain town and that's exactly what we did. becoming friends with the family who owned the hotel may have helped add to the experience. i was able to explore a place which had been in operation since the 1800's, an amazing adventure to have as a kid and exceeded any expectations my little adolescent brain had.  memories from that trip have stayed with me to this day, including the best peanut butter pie i've ever had. it felt like home.

manhaattan kansas was a different feeling.  i was trying to decide where to go to college and kansas state was not on my list,  i didn't want to visit it and i didn't want to like it.  my expectations were low.  however after spending a day on campus i loved it.  i loved how the limestone buildings bordered the grass filled quad.  the tress filled in their fall foliage put the vision over the top.  in my mind, it felt the way college was suppose to feel, it felt like home.

my whole life i had wanted to visit california. a place where things happened, a place with culture, a place with an ocean.  my expectations were high when i finally visited the state at age 18.  i saw celebrities, i surfed, i saw a shark and i watched the sun set over the pacific ocean. there was just something about california and especially san diego.  it felt alive and youthful. maybe it didn't feel like home as much as i just wanted it to be home; which i eventually did for a little bit years later.

portland and austin were hipster fantasy lands in the mid oughts.  everything in my life i was interested in during that time was pointing me towards these two cities. music, coffee, beer, food trucks, flannel shirts, trucker hats.....these two cities at that time were peaks in the hipster timeline and i was glad i had a chance to visit them when i did.  a home of culture.

boothbay was different.  i had no real expectations, it was just a regular weekend trip.  however upon entering this little village tucked around a small bay, if felt quintessentially maine. lobster boats by the dock and seafood restaurants on the shore.  to add to the experience it was a weekend of their "harbor fest" so everyone was in goods spirits.  in the short time we were there the locals made us feel incredibly welcome. somehow in the middle of all this friendliness i was entered into an oyster chucking contest. a contest that brought more humor to those watching me than anything else.  expectations were exceeded, the first impression was picturesque and the whole weekend was filled with memories and even a few souvenirs.  i was gifted an oyster chucking knife and glove for my effort.

for a few days, i felt a part of a small community.  for a guy who grew up in a town of 2,000 it really did feel like a home...away from home...away from home.

a tale of two [boats]

it was the best of times, it was a test of times

it was a boat of wisdom, it was a boat of foolishness,

it was a journey talking about wine, it was a journey of tangled up line

it was an evening of sails, it was an entire day of scales

it was a touch of class, it was being sick off my ass

we had a sommelier before us, we had captain pete before us

we felt like heavan, i felt like the other way...

in short, both trips were a blast, and i wouldn't change a thing.

seer[sucker] for the east coast

last weekend found me vacationing on the east coast.  every picture i took reminded me of home. a field of blue sea reminded me of amber waves of grain; a silhouette of a lighthouse along the shore, a silo standing solitary against a mid western sky. tug boats and ferry's hard a work mimicked tractors and combines doing the same. seagulls were meadowlarks and wooden beach fences, limestone posts. even the seersucker jacket i wore reminded me of the pillow ticking on the back of an old quilt.

the running of the, grunion?

grunion on the shore

last night i went to watch the running of the grunion with some friends. honestly i did not believe this was for real. i assumed that this was in the same category as "snipe" hunting. but as i'm always up for anything that will provide me with comic material, i went. now we were "told" that the grunion come up to shore one hour after high tide. so we waited on the beach, to my surprise there were other "grunion watchers" waiting on the shores. an interesting group to say the least, i'd say a couple of small steps ahead of "trekies" only because these people get outside a little. but as i was out there with them, i really don't have room to talk. anyway we waited and waited, but finally the grunion came, and believe you me it is beyond bizarre. the females ride a wave onto shore, do there business with the males, the males head back to sea, the females bury the eggs, and then catch the next wave, for a more technical explanation here is a link: www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/gruschd.html. overall the night was great, it was like being in a discovery channel episode in person. now i just have to get this fish smell off my hands. to see more pictures just click on one.

lone grunion










caught one!