Lynn WiezyckiOne of the often missed parts of Acadia National Park is only 4 miles east but actually a bit of a drive from Bar Harbor. This would be my third visit to…
Schoodic Peninsula and Schoodic Point.
Schoodic Peninsula contains about 5% of Acadia National Park as well as the two towns of Gouldsboro and Winter Harbor.
According to one of the residents, we spent some time talking to, this area was settled by Pennsylvanians while the Mount Desert area was mostly New Yorkers and New Jersians.
We left the rental house very early as the drive around the Mt Desert Narrows is almost 2 hours.
Schoodic Peninsula
As we arrived on Schoodic Peninsula we made a few stops to shoot along the shore.
The Winter Harbor Lighthouse can be seen along the Schoodic Loop Road. It is one of the shortest lighthouses I have ever seen but I guess it does the job!
Schoodic Point
Our main destination was Schoodic Point. There is a fairly large parking lot at the point but usually not as full as the other “star” locations in the Mount Desert part of Acadia National Park, especially in October.
During my previous visits in August and September, the locals use the rock cliffs as a somewhat cooler (because of the winds off the Atlantic) place to sunbathe.
In October, it was somewhat more windy and cold so the waves were the attraction.
I made my way across the rocky cliffs so I could set up my tripod and capture some of the big waves hitting the edge and spraying up in some interesting shapes!
I moved around a bit to get some different rocks in the foreground. Also, the shape of the cliff at different points resulted in bigger sprays and amazing shapes.
I realized that my friends had not followed me so I backtracked and found them at a small cove in the opposite direction. I checked with them and found they had been doing long exposures whereas I had been doing fast exposures (1/320s) to stop the waves.
So I found a spot next to the cove to set up the tripod, added my neutral density filter to the lens, and changed my exposure to 5 seconds.
That slow shutter speed makes this place, where the waves are quite violently hitting the rocks, look like a pleasant, ethereal scene! Oh! I love the creative side of photography and technique!
Along the Other Side of Schoodic Peninsula
After getting our fill of waves, we made a few more stops on Schoodic Peninsula as we made our way around Schoodic Loop Road.
Some Art and Food
Once off the loop road, I wanted to take the group to the Pickled Wrinkle restaurant for lunch but we were a bit early so we stopped at an art gallery in Winter Harbor. The Littlefield Gallery is mostly housed in the owner’s home. It has a very interesting array of art done by Maine artists. There are even pieces in the bathrooms and bedrooms!
We spent some time talking to one of the owners. He was the one who told us about the different origins of the people on this side of the narrows versus the other!
After checking out the entire Littlefield house (there are a few off-limits areas) and the annex next door, I highly recommend a stop there!
From there we headed to the Pickled Wrinkle in Birch Harbor. They have changed the menu somewhat from the last time we were there. Before it was very Maine with Lobster Rolls and actual pickled wrinkles (a sea-snail). The menu is more pub-like with no Lobster Rolls or pickled wrinkles! The food was good but it was a bit of a disappointment.
Schoodic Peninsula and Schoodic Point are both great places to see and photograph Maine’s rocky shoreline with much fewer people than on the Mt Desert side of Acadia. So, take a break from the crowds and make the drive around and check it out!
Since the weather had been very clear all morning we decided to head back to the house, take a bit of a break, and then try to get some night sky photography in at Eagle Lake. Yes, we were successful and you can see those Milky Way images in Part 2 of this Maine series.
Click on any image to see a larger version or visit my Schoodic Peninsula & Point Gallery for these and additional images.
My next post will be about one small part of Acadia National Park. Otter Point is a location where we spent a number of hours early and late in one day!
That is all for now!
Lynn
Mary Presson Roberts