New on 500px : Light Embrace by CharlieWiddis by CharlieWiddis

While I was out running around Back Bay in Portland a few weeks ago, I noticed that there were some lupines growing. I headed back a few days later when the sky looked better and took a few shots. Lupines make such good subjects because they stand out so well from the surrounding brush.

I was happy for the chance to photograph them in their short time they bloom.

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New on 500px : Light Embrace by CharlieWiddis by CharlieWiddis

While I was out running around Back Bay in Portland a few weeks ago, I noticed that there were some lupines growing. I headed back a few days later when the sky looked better and took a few shots. Lupines make such good subjects because they stand out so well from the surrounding brush.

I was happy for the chance to photograph them in their short time they bloom.

Prints available at http://ift.tt/PI3ZvI

via 500px http://ift.tt/1kebnvP

New on 500px : Burn Brighter by YegorMalinovskii by YegorMalinovskii

Cold January morning at the Portland Headlight.
I guess this shot should have been called “20 Seconds”, as it’s how long that light was present before the storm moved in.
And today for some reason I’m missing snow and cold weather – living in Maine for 6 years starting to rub off on me.

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New on 500px : Spirit of Maine by BenjaminMWilliamson by BenjaminMWilliamson

It felt so good to get out and shoot this morning. I haven’t made too many sunrises in the past month or so, mainly because the light hasn’t been too promising, but also because I haven’t had the will to deprive myself of sleep. The rewards are evident, but it’s just plain hard to get up at 4 AM.

4 AM it was when the alarm went off this morning. I rolled out of bed and checked the satellite images on my phone. The clouds looked good for a dramatic sunrise, so I considered my options. The skies were clear from Augusta to Belfast, so heading Northeast wasn’t looking good. I-295 South would take me to the better light. After driving for a while, I could see the break beneath the bank of clouds was fairly far south. This meant that I would need to go further south. Portland was my first thought, but Old Orchard Beach was growing in my mind.

What I’m saying here is, whenever I plan for a shoot, it’s always contingent on finding the best light. If I go to sleep thinking of great shots around Camden, as I did last night, but I wake up to find that the light looks like it will be better to the south, south I go. Anyways, Old Orchard seemed like the best option for good light, but as happens time and time again, I felt a strong pull to visit Portland Head Light.

I usually park outside the gate at PHL and walk in, but for some reason the gate was wide open at 4:45 AM! Nice. Scouting shots and compositions is always a joy here. I had in mind a panorama of the horseshoe-shaped cove on the more popular side of the lighthouse, but as the light began to really blow up, I was having difficulties panning the head on my cheap tripod. If there was ever a wake-up call for upgrading to better gear, this was it. I was wasting precious time and the sunrise was quickly becoming epic.

I did what I could with the pano, but the amount of bracketing required to get the shadowed foreground and lighthouse and blazing sky properly exposed was too much. I quickly reviewed the h

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