Bass Harbor Head Light in the Fog
After spending a week in Southwest Harbor, we headed out to see some of the highlights of the Quietside. As I explained last week, we had about 6 hours with nowhere to call home base, so after visiting the Gilley Museum, we continued around the Quietside, first with a stop at Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse (top).
Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse is probably the most popular photography spot in Acadia National Park. If you want to shoot it at sunset, better get there early because as I wrote about last year, photographers get there early and they will not budge to let you get one quick shot. Luckily, we had some interesting fog on the day of our visit that made for interesting shots even in the middle of the day. What these iconic photos don’t show you, is that to get this shot, you have to stand on jagged rocks. If getting this shot is on your Acadia bucket list, bring sturdy shoes and make sure you are surefooted. You wouldn’t want to damage your camera gear and yourself just trying to get a picture. After the fuss of getting a shot last year, I think this lighthouse is overrated. You want a unique Acadia shot? Getaway from the crowds and do some hiking! You can catch sunrise or sunset from the top of a mountain and unlike Cadillac Mountain, you will have the mountain all to yourself. Hopefully soon, Chris will share some of his early morning hikes in Acadia.
Waves crashing on the seawall.
After leaving the Lighthouse, we headed over to the Seawall (left). In Michigan we have seawalls, but they are mostly concrete barriers that keep the water from eroding your lawn. Acadia’s seawall is natural and made of jagged rocks and gravel. Being on the Quietside really makes a difference for the crowds and the seawall is a great spot to capture the crashing waves without the people you will see at Thunder Hole. You may remember, this was a favorite spot of yours on our first trip to Acadia because we stayed at the Seawall Campground and drove past every day.
If you are planning to visit Acadia, make sure to get away from the crowds and spend some time on the Quietside of the island. To read more about this trip, check out the Mainely Acadia Trip Report page. To read about some of our previous trips, click here. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.
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One thing I wasn’t prepared for was the difficulty of the carriage roads. They were all designed to be driven by carriages, so they weren’t mounting biking difficult, but there were some steep hills we had to climb. I am not an avid biker by any means, so I had to take a few breaks during our bike ride. I did enjoy coasting down the big hills, though! Some of the roads are easier than others, so I recommend if you’re a novice bikers like me that you plan a route that you can handle.
The Asticou Azalea Garden is located in Northeast Harbor and is a great spot near Acadia to take a quiet walk and appreciate the flowers in a beautifully manicured garden. The garden has been a local staple since 1957. Martha Stewart even wrote in 
I may have a black thumb, but I always enjoy photographing in botanical gardens. It is a great time to play with focus and depth of field. Middle of the day is not typically a great time for photography, but with this kind of photography, the lighting can lend itself to interesting bokeh! A totally overcast day would be another great time to visit a botanical garden because overcast skies in landscape photos are boring!
