Cool_It Loc: Whitehall, PA

I was lucky this year and was able to leave work behind and travel to Maine for few days. To top things off, I had been trying for a few months to obtain tickets for a 9 hour boat ride to view Maine and Canadian lighthouses. The tour had sold out and I was on the waiting list. I called the day prior and someone had just cancelled, thus providing me access.

My Maine trip provided some beautiful scenery although in the end I was a bit sleep deprived but I think you will see why.
https://robertballard.smugmug.com/Street-Scenes/Lighthouses-of-Maine-2015

Hanging out with friends and making new ones near Lancaster, PA.

Rosie the Riveter at Strasburg Railroad, PA
https://robertballard.smugmug.com/Street-Scenes/Strasburg-Railroad-Rosie-The-R/

Thank you for looking,

Bob
https://robertballard.smugmug.com/

dragonswing Loc: Pa

You certainly were busy. Lots of great photos.

Jay Pat Loc: Round Rock, Texas, USA

Nice series at Strasburg RR and the lighthouses!!
Pat

grandmadeb Loc: illinois, usa

I was blown away with all your photos. Thank you for sharing your talent. makes me want to go out and shoot. The lighthouses are really wonderfully done. Deb

macsmom Loc: S Carolina

Love your lighthouse pics, especially the ones with the keepers. Those are great. Now I want to go. Name of the tour?

Charlie

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

Excellent photography Robert.

Mary Kate Loc: NYC

Cool_It Loc: Whitehall, PA

Good eye Collhart, I visited that lighthouse in 2013 on my first trip to Maine. It is in this gallery,

https://robertballard.smugmug.com/Street-Scenes/Maine-Lighthouses

I also visited in 2014,
https://robertballard.smugmug.com/Street-Scenes/Maine-Lighthouses-2014/

Thanks to everyone for all of the compliments. I really enjoy the time away from my day job and going out finding different things to photograph.

The boat tour was out of Bar Harbor. It was called the Grand Slam Lighthouse Tour. Next year's is supposed to be even better.

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

Bob, Just out of curiosity, are you "the" Robert Ballard of Titanic and Woods Hole fame?

As a sailor who cruised the coast of Maine for fifteen years taking photographing some of those same lighthouses, I can attest that you either had a spectacularly clear day or fantastic PP skills; in either case, you got some wonderful shots. Long lenses and high shutter speeds up there sure help.

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

Bob, Just out of curiosity, are you "the" Robert Ballard of Titanic and Woods Hole fame?

As a sailor who cruised the coast of Maine for fifteen years taking photographing some of those same lighthouses, I can attest that you either had a spectacularly clear day or fantastic PP skills; in either case, you got some wonderful shots. Long lenses and high shutter speeds up there sure help.

Cool_It Loc: Whitehall, PA

JCam,

I wish I could make the claim of being that Robert Ballard but not quite. Funny though, I have always had an interest in the Titanic long before his discovery. Growing up my mother had a book that was written soon after the sinking so I read and gave a book report in grade school. Maybe one day I will cross paths with him.

The morning started out pretty grey and dismal. I camped out on the upper deck and it was probably in the mid 50's. The boat has set of turbines and we had no problem cruising 30+ knots. I was a bit chilled but once we got into Canadian waters the sun came out and the sky cleared.

I use Light Room for PP. I wish I had the patients to learn Photoshop but so far LR does everything I need it to do.

I had my D800 set up with the 70-200mm f2.8 with a polarized filter and my D3S set up with the 24-70mm f2.8. I even go to a point where I broke out my Samsung Note 4 and took photos because of how wide the lens is. I am quite impressed with it, I just wished I would have paid attention to the camera setting and shot in high resolution. For the Samsung photos, I had the HDR setting on. I'll attach a few from my Note 4 phone.

Lubec Channel Lighthouse


Lubec West Quoddy Lighthouse


Captain Bob Pratt's "Morning in Maine" dog POCO


Captain Bob Pratt's "Morning in Maine"


"The Pearl" Rockland Maine

Cool_It Loc: Whitehall, PA

I am providing a link for a high resolution photo (27MB) taken with the Note 4. You should be able to zoom in pretty far without loosing too much detail.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q2f4dwmb7vjeune/20150221_145112.jpg?dl=0

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

Bob, Sorry about the double post; not quite sure how it happened and I didn't know it until I opened your second post.

The Rockland pictures are great, and it sure looks as if POCO has figured out the best way to cruise the Maine coast--take it easy and wait for someone to give him a scratch or a snack. That is a nice shot of Captain Bob; most tourists are too busy looking towards the shore or at other boats that they seldom turn around to see what there is to photograph on their own vessel.

Nice shot of the West Quoddy light house too! Because the peninsulas Down East were formed by the great glacier as it moved south, there is usually a line of submerged rocks stretching out from the shore, often for some distance, to the southeast so wary skippers try not to get too close so shots are often taken from quite a distance. Authors frequently refer to "the rocky Maine coast" and with good reason.

You are certainly right about the "zoom ability" the Note 4 picture, even the left over sea foam is sharp and retains the colors. Thanks for posting!

mremery Loc: From Maine, living in Virginia

Thank you sir, I loved the lighthouses. I was born and raised in Maine, but much further inland. We didn't get to the coast much at all so seeing these examples of the coastline from my home state makes it very special for me.

It reminds me of how much I don't know even about my own birthplace. But it's a great reminder, thanks again.