Thursday, July 9, at the Maine Media Workshop

I awoke early on Thursday, eager to take advantage of the lovely weather and the opportunity to see more of the Atlantic coast. I drove south out of Rockport to the Samoset Resort near Rockland. It was about 6 am when I parked in the deserted parking lot by the golf course and followed the path down the hill to the long rocky coastline and sweeping views of Penobscot Bay. The sore birds were soaring and there was a lone walker on the long jetty. After shooting some images, I drove slowly back to Rockport.

I was scheduled to meet Paula, John and Nancy at 8:30 for the drive to the Olson House in Cushing, Maine. The Olson House was the home of Christina and Alvaro Olson, was made famous by the painter Andrew Wyeth in his work entitled Christina's World. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places; the site was gifted to the Farnsworth Art Museum by John and Lee Adams Sculley in 1991.

We were given the freedom to shoot images wherever we wanted in the restored house and grounds. The light in the house was beautiful, clear, softly diffused by the subtle colors of the worn wood floors and the aged plaster walls. Strong contrasts of light and dark, Faded colors on doors and walls. The house was sparsely furnished; each room contained reproductions of Wyeth paintings that had been created in that room or spot. We shot images inside and outside for almost two hours.

Around noon we piled back into the cars for the drive to Pemaquid Point Lighthouse in Bristol where we were scheduled to have lunch. But first, our foursome took a detour to the little port in Cushing, where we found a lobster boat loading up traps for their journey out into the bay. Fishermen were also unloading a fresh catch of lobster and we were allowed to take some "up close and personal photos" of the brilliantly colored crustaceans.

We arrived at Pemaquid Point after everyone else had finished lunch. We grabbed what was left and started exploring the area. Pemaquid Point has a lovely keeper's cottage and a dramatic position above slabs of granite that climb up the hill from the beach. The granite has beautiful color streaks, scattered tidepools and a rolling, crashing surf at the water line. We climbed over the slabs, hoping to snap a unique angle of an iconic Maine lighthouse.

Around 3 pm, we headed back to Rockport for our 4 pm critique. On the way, Paula introduced us to the Round Top Ice Cream shop near Damariscotta, Maine. It appears that people in Maine care about quality ice cream. They are "some pickity" about it. Round Top has a legendary reputation and an impressive array of flavors. It made up for the late and lean lunch!

Again, Claire magically asembed everyone's images into a slideshow and we all got to see how differently 15 individuals "see" the same boats, lighthouses, and rocks. The slideshow critques were one of the most valuable aspects of the workshop. It was creatively inspiring to see the images everyone had taken.

Our critique over, Alison went off to the "instructors dinner" and several of us decided to assemble in Camden Harbor for more photos and dinner. I drove down to the Harbor with Angela and Nancy. I'd raved to Angela about the small Italian restaurant where I'd eaten dinner on Tuesday night. She was ready to give it a try and persuaded Ed, Kevin, John W. and Laura to join us. John K. joined us shortly after we'd ordered. Lots more talk of photography, Maine, image-making and what we all do in our "day jobs." Angela suggested we develop a group website and continue to share our photos. I said I'd love to help coordinate a group photo book as a reminder of our colors class. The food was excellent and the company great. We broke up around 9:00, aware that Friday morning and our early departure for the dawn shoot wasn't far away.

We wandered out of the restaurant and around the Harbor parking lot, taking a few more photos as the light faded. I dropped Angela at the Workshop Residence Hall and headed back to the Schooner Inn, eager to see the latest images I'd taken. Additional photos from Thursday can be viewed here.