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I missed Maine the minute I left and I'm glad that I took more photos than I can reasonably sort in a day or two. Right about now, I'd mostly likely be at one of the many beautiful harbors watching the boats come in. The 9 days I spent in Maine were truly magical and I can't wait to go back. And I will be back!
Before I left on my trip for Maine, Courtney made me promise to try a lobster roll. And since I always try to keep my promises ...
I was skeptical about the whole lobster roll thing. To be honest, it didn't sound very good. But to my surprise it was absolutely delicious. So much so, that I had TWO of them.
Here are my before and after pictures. Courtney, thanks for the recommendation. Wish you were here!
I'm tired, my photography sucks, and I am certain that I don't belong in this class. What the heck am I doing here anyway, I wonder? I'm slightly grumpy, but holding my own - sort of. According to Bob, this is typical. This too shall pass. The excitement of Monday and starting a new class has worn off and the early morning, working late into the night combination is catching up with us. It sure has caught up with me. I felt like I had a lot of good shots on Monday, yesterday, not so much. I felt like I had to work much harder my second day of shooting than my first. In spite of it all, being tired, grumpy, feeling inadequate (compared to the wonderful photographers we have in the class), aching back and the humidity that makes my hair look like something from Young Frankenstein, I still love to shoot and I'm having a ball! I'm grateful each and every day for every new tidbit that I pick up, not only from Bob, but from the other great students in the class (truly amazing work)! I am especially grateful when I get 5 good shots to make the daily cut. And speaking of which, here are photos from today's daily cut.
Last night I was both restless and anxious as Bob sent us on your first photo shoot assignments. The goal was to have 20 or so shots that we could twiddle down to 5 winners. I admit that I felt a bit nervous and under some pressure to come up with 5 good shots. But in spite of myself, I actually took more than 5 good shots, which I hope leave you with a sense of place about Maine.
Maine is heaven on earth. It's simply a breathtaking place. Everyone who knew that I was coming to Maine told me that I would fall in love with it. My husband forewarned me that I will want to move here (given my penchant for wanderlust, it's really not a surprise). He was right. Maine is undescribably gorgeous. I don't even know where to begin. The highways are lined with beautiful, lush green trees, studded with granite rocks in some places, villages and harbor towns that are actually nice to tourists. I have yet to meet anyone that has been rude or cross, or anything less than gracious and friendly, including sweet Edith and The Ledges motel.
Being in Maine I am on sensory overload; the sights, sounds, scents and lets not forget taste. There's a photo opportunity around every corner. Following Highway 1 you come across multiple, quaint harbors and oceanside towns. I have been taking photographs in Camden, Rockport, Lincolnville & Belfast. I've enjoyed every small town so far, my favorites being Lincolnville and Belfast for they are less trendy and mobbed with tourists. On average, it takes me an hour to slowly snake my way down a five mile stretch of Highway 1, for every so many yards I am jumping out of the car, camera in hand, snapping away. It's not uncommon for me to make a last-minute U-turn because I missed something. And the food. Let's talk about the food for a moment, shall we? Fresh seafood, right from the boat to your plate just about. Everything I have eaten thus far (which believe me ... has been a fair share ... although we won't dwell on this tidbit) has been FANTASTIC! And if there isn't enough eye candy between the beautiful green studded roads and charming harbors, there are plenty of birds (another passion) all vesting their beautiful summer plumage. They dart in and out of the forest nooks and crannies, soaring over harbors & boldly coming up to picnic tables (the cute little beggars that they can be). Birds of the east coast are much more colorful than their western counterparts (excluding Chestnut-backed Chickadees of the west coast, which in my opinion are more colorful and friendly than their Black-capped cousins). There are warblers galore, all singing and flittering about outside my hotel room.
I've taken over 400 photographs in the 3 days that I've been there (yes, some are duplicates and 50% will be deleted once I evaluate and rate them). Still, there is no shortage of photographic material. Maybe my photography class will slow me down? Probably not, but that's OK. I brought a spare drive with me.
I'm certain that there have been individuals before who have vacationed at a destination only to fall in love with a place and never left. I'm close.
So here are a few tidbits of eye candy for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!
This is pretty much how you'll see me much of the time, but particularly, this week! It's one of the few photos you will ever see of me! I'm much more comfortable behind the lens than in front of one.
Peace.
It was in March, four months ago, that I signed up for a week long, travel photography workshop. The instructor, Bob Krist, is one of my favorite photographers. He's traveled and photographed spectacular locations around the globe, for both National Geographic and travel magazines, and I have admired his work for years. I had been keeping an eye on his teaching schedule for 2008, and I was thoroughly elated when this travel photography workshop popped up. But over time, say a week or two, my elation turned into fear. A requirement for submission into the class (aside from shelling out the tuition) was the submission of a photography portfolio. I procrastinated. And procrastinated. Weeks went by, then it was months and then it was a month before the workshop was to begin when Bill asked me if I had submitted my portfolio and paid the balance of the class. The conversation went something like this:
Bill: Did you submit your portfolio yet?
Me: No.
Bill: Why not?
Me: Because.
Bill: Why because? Are you 3 years old?
Me: No. Well, sometimes. SIGH.
Back and forth we went until I ran out of smart-assed answers and I had to be honest about the root cause of my procrastination.
One of the gifts my husband has is his ability to drill down to the heart of the matter in the midst of chaos.
Most of my friends thought my fear was that of submitting a portfolio and dear as they are, assured me, "of course you'll get in to the class." But my fear wasn't the portfolio and I was certain that I would be accepted. My real fear was what happens after the acceptance. What then? For me, the "what then" was about measuring up once I got to class. Where would I fit in with the 15 other students? Would I be on par, would I be able to pick things up, would Bob think my photography skills and my photos sucked? I'm sure you get the gist of the internal dialog I had going.
My friend Courtney said some things that really stuck. "Hey," she said, "You're there to learn. If you already knew all this stuff you wouldn't have singed up to take the class. You'd be teaching the class!" She continued to remind me that this is supposed to be fun and that learning is fun and it's OK to mess up along the way, because HEY, I'M LEARNING DAMNIT! Courtney's humor and patient approach sunk in (she used to be a school teacher). I just had to keep telling myself, "I'm learning." I took her comments to heart, and I recalled over the years, how I've never given myself margin for error; margin to learn and fumble my way down the learning trail. I've always expected myself to get things right and perfect the first time -- as if I had already learned them. But learning doesn't work that way and neither can I. If I were training someone, I would never expect them to learn without the trial and error that goes with learning. Then why, I had to wonder, didn't I extend myself the same patience? Acknowledgement was my first step. That night, promptly, I went home and submitted my portfolio. I phoned the school to explain the ... uh ... oversight in having submitted my portfolio. The next day I received an acceptance email that said "good work" and that they'd see me soon. Soon. Yes, very soon.
I'm sitting in SFO. It is 11:00 pm and I have another hour before we board the red-eye flight to Boston. I'll arrive there in the morning, pick up my rental car and drive to Rockport Maine. Maine! A place I've ALWAYS wanted to visit. Does it get any better than this?
Once I got over my initial fear of flying (so to speak ... cuz I really don't have a problem flying and in fact, I quite love it), I could then move beyond my temporary paralysis and look forward to the journey and experiences that await me. I'm excited. I can do this! And whatever my photo skill level is today, a week from now my skills will be even better (the entire point and well worth any anxiety). Just to make certain that my new found enthusiasm wasn't a temporary blip, I signed myself up for 2 more classes, one in September and an intensive three-day workshop on the Oregon coast in October.
Yep, no guts no glory!
