Jason Gendron and I went to Cape Cod, Massachusetts yesterday to photograph lighthouses. It was an awesome day!

I met Jason at five o’clock for breakfast at Station House Grill in Hollis, Maine, where he works weekend mornings. He cooked our breakfast, which was delicious.

After breakfast we drove to East Boston Piers Park where we photographed the early morning Boston skyline. The temperatures were frigid and wind brisk. We wasted no time getting our shots so we could return to the warm car. Next we drove to the north side of the Charles River to photograph the city. Unfortunately the sun was too high and directly in front of us. Not wanting to miss any daylight photography opportunities we immediately headed south to Cape Cod.

Boston skyline from East Boston Piers Park

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boston · cape cod · jason gendron · lighthouse · massachusetts · photography · travel · winter

Yesterday I went on a photo shoot with Jason Pooler down to Cape Neddick Light and Route One. It was fun to hang out with Jason and see some of my favorite places again. He brought two of his kids and I had the girls.

Thanks, Jason. I had a great time!

Donation lighthouse at Marginal Way

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jason pooler · lighthouse · maine · photo shoot

I worked eleven days in November. I’m going to work four days in December. Things are tight, to say the least. I have a lot to be happy about, no doubt, but I think the stress is literally eating me from the inside. I feel like I’m going to implode.

When my boss called last night to tell me my only shoot of the week canceled I decided I’d go on my own shoot. Photography has always been my way to get away from it all and maintain at least a semblance of sanity. I especially enjoy shooting Maine’s lighthouses. Blogging also helps.

I left at around six o’clock this morning to catch the sunrise. Kirsten sent me with a full thermos of hot coffee. I love that woman! The sky was overcast but it didn’t matter; PHL is wonderful regardless of the weather conditions. I took some pictures with my 50mm f/1.8 lens on manual focus for a while before deciding to head home.

Ram Island Ledge Light in Casco Bay

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coast · lighthouse · maine · phl · photography

Several years ago, while we were still living in Kansas, Kirsten decided to decorate with a nautical motif. Part of her collection included a print of Edward Hopper‘s Lighthouse Hill which he painted in 1927. It hung in our living room in Kansas as it does now in Maine.

Edward Hopper’s Lighthouse Hill

I didn’t know which lighthouse was featured in the painting until I photographed the East Tower at Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse in February. Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse (Two Lights) is 13.5 miles from our house here in Saco.

East Tower at Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse

It is a real pleasure to live in such a picturesque area. I love being a Mainer.

art · edward hopper · lighthouse · maine

Yesterday Kirsten “called out” so we could spend the day as a family. I’m glad she did. Our work and school schedules rarely allow for us to be together during the day. And the day was absolutely gorgeous. Fleece weather, my favorite. We brought the cameras along.

Enjoy.

Kirsten made a wonderful breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheese, toast, grits, bacon, orange juice and coffee. How lucky am I?!? Jenna read to us the book, “Fairly Stupid Tales”, which is hilarious, especially the way she reads it. At different parts she is quiet, loud, fast, slow, and inflects her voice where appropriate. It was great fun to listen to, and watch, her read this super silly story.

Does it get any better than this?

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brent · children's museum · lighthouse · maine · phl · portland head light

Yesterday I took the girls to my favorite place, Fort Williams State Park in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. They enjoyed climbing on the rocks and playing in the fort. I enjoyed watching the vessels in Casco Bay; smelling the cool salty sea air; listening to the gulls, crashing waves and the fog horn at Portland Head Light; and feeling the cool breeze against my skin. It is heaven and where I go to recharge, clear my mind and connect with nature.

Spring Point Ledge Light

Hayley Michelle

Ram Island Ledge Light

“Overseas Portland” departs the harbor

The girls love to play in the old fort

Portland Head Light

cape elizabeth · coast · lighthouse · maine · nature · phl

This afternoon I spent some time at Portland Head Light reading, relaxing and taking pictures. It is, after all, my favorite place.

Things have been tough lately. Stressful. I’m not sure how much more of this I can handle. I used to take pictures to clear my mind and relieve stress but lately I feel too guilty and selfish if I’m out wasting gas and not looking for a better job. I drove Kirsten to an appointment she had at school this morning and while I waited for her I drove over to PHL. It was so nice I decided I had to return later with my camera.

Clouds over the Atlantic

Me at PHL

Kirsten and I went to the library on our way home. I checked out The Conscience of a Liberal by Paul Krugman. I had verified the night before that it was there and available. Paul won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on Monday. I’ve been reading his New York Times op/ed column for a long time and have been impressed by his intellect. I’m excited to read his latest book.

Portland Head Light

After dropping Kirsten off at the house I picked up a couple of chili dogs from Rapid Ray’s and headed to Cape Elizabeth. I hiked out to my favorite spot on high cliffs at the southernmost point of the park, set up my chair and settled in. I read my new library book, snapped a few pictures for fun, ate my lunch and thoroughly enjoyed being in my own little slice of heaven. I love the salty sea air, cool breeze, busy lobster boats, several lighthouses and occasional tour buses unloading people who’ve come a long way to see my lighthouse (I usually see them from a distance).

Just playin’ around

It was time wonderfully spent. I’ll need to go back soon to preserve any remaining sanity. It’s a wonderful place and will be less and less crowded as the mercury drops in the coming weeks and months.

cape elizabeth · fort williams state park · lighthouse · maine · nobel · ny times · paul krugman · phl

brentdanley

Yes, that’s a keyfob. And, because it’s a Volkswagon Jetta keyfob, it’s also the key.

Last Sunday the girls asked me to take them to Portland Head Light to climb on the rocks, hike and take pictures. The answer to that request will always be an enthusiastic “yes”. While I took pictures the girls made a “house” out of driftwood, mangled lobster pots and rocks. I climbed all over the cliffs and boulders trying to capture the lighthouses from new and interesting perspectives.

I laid on a rock about six inches above the surface of the water to get this shot.

And got really low to capture this reflection.

Then I waited for the girls to be done playing. After a long while I suggested we go play on the swings before heading to the hospital to get Kirsten. The sun was getting low and the tide was coming in and I was getting a bit chilly.

Skye and Hayley headed to the playground while Jenna and I went to get the car and drive it down. I couldn’t find the key! It wasn’t in my pants, jacket or camera bag. Nowhere. If it were down on those rocks the tide would, in a very short time, completely cover it. Besides, it was getting dark and there were about a bazillion round rocks it could have fallen between. And, it was getting dark. And, the park would be closing at sunset. And, Kirsten needed a ride home after her twelve hour shift at the hospital. Fuck.

Jenna and I walked to the playground to get her sisters then headed back down the tall granite cliffs to the rocky shore where we had spent most of the afternoon. I scanned the ground in what I knew was a futile attempt to locate the missing key. I suspected it had fallen out of my jacket pocket in either of the two places I had laid down.

The girls were too slow over the cliffs and boulders so I told them to go to the top of the cliff and walk around. That way they wouldn’t slow me down and I could keep an eye on them.

At the first location, where I had laid on a rock to shoot Ram Island Ledge Light, the rock was submerged by the rising tide. I looked through the clear water but couldn’t see the key. I hurried to the second spot and, when I rounded the last corner, saw the bright red PANIC button of the keyfob at eye level. Whew!!! After snapping a few pics for this blog post I retrieved the key and headed back to tell the girls the good news. I had no idea the adventure had just begun.

The girls hadn’t gone up to the cliff, but were still down on the beach. Apparently they hadn’t heard me or communicated to each other. And they couldn’t hear me now, they were too far away. When they were in range I called out to Jenna and Skye and asked them where was Hayley. I figured she was behing a large rocks and was just out of sight. All I got was a shoulder shrug. I yelled for Skye to go find her and off Skye went. When I finally reached Jenna I was missing two girls, but was confident Skye would find her sister and we could finally leave.

As Jenna and I climbed up the cliff there were about fifteen people standing on the edge watching us. When we got close to the top a women asked if I was the dad. I told her I was a dad. She said they found my daughter, which was nice. I didn’t think they were lost, really. Pretty soon Skye rounded the corner and everybody looked quite pleased about the reunion. Until I told them I have three daughters. Those happy expressions instantly changed back to concern and panic.

With Skye and Jenna close behind I walked around the top edge of the cliffs yelling for Hayley. After only a few very long seconds we heard a man yelling that he had found her. I could tell by his voice that she was okay. She had a huge smile on her face as he carried her up to us. Everybody was relieved and happy our little family was back together. Hayley had been several hundred yards away from where I had left her. She was trying to find us but was going the wrong direction over very large, sharp and treacherous boulders.

I was never as concerned as any of the spectators. The girls are very good on the rocks and hardly ever fall off them.

2008 · adventure · cape elizabeth · emergency · found · keyfob · lighthouse · lost · panic · phl · portland

“How did you do that?” For some this questions is probably simple to answer. The following explanation is for those of you still scratching your head.

The idea for this shot came to me in the shower yesterday, where I do some of my best thinking. I was inspired by a photo I saw on Flickr a year and a half ago. In that picture two men are holding a large picture frame that appears to make them invisible inside the frame. It is obvious to me now which techniques were used and how, but at the time I was puzzled and impressed.

Many people have remarked that applying the Orton Effect to an image results in a picture that looks like a painting. I figured we could take it a step further. The idea was to shoot two pictures–one with Skye holding a large picture frame and another without Skye and the frame–and combine them. A portion of the second picture would be placed inside the frame of the first to make it look as though it was mounted in the frame when we took the photo. The first thing we had to do was take the two base photos. Skye and I hauled two tripods, a huge white/yellow reflector card, camera gear, and the large picture frame over the snow and ice to a spot far away from the lighthouse.

While Skye held the frame I shot a few test shots and adjusted the settings on the camera and the speedlight. I controlled the camera’s shutter with an infrared remote. The tripod mounted Nikon D70s controlled the SB600 speedlight, which was also mounted on a tripod. The flash was positioned at about the height of Skye’s chest and just out of frame left. I held a large yellow card just over Skye’s head on the right. We fought the wind and braved the bitter cold until we were satisfied with the results. (manual mode, manual focus, ISO 200, f/5.6, 25mm, 1/125 sec.)

With the hardest part over, all we had to do was have Skye step off the bench and move out of the frame so I could get a couple shots of the unobstructed lighthouse.

Post-processing was the fun part. First, I put both images through Dynamic Photo HDR to make them pop and bring out color and detail. Then I stacked the resulting JPEGs in Photoshop and straightened the horizon. With that bit of housekeeping done I turned my attention to the lighthouse layer: the one that would be placed inside the frame.

First I applied the Orton Effect to give it that surreal dreamy painting look. Then I added a dry brush filter to give it the look of painted brush strokes. Then I added a canvas texture to make it look even more like a painting. Now it was ready to go into the frame.

To get the proper width/height ratio I measured the inside dimensions of the frame with my tape measure: 19.5 x 15.5 inches. Then I selected the Rectangular Marquee Tool in Photoshop and set the style to Fixed Ratio with a width of 19.5 and a height of 15.5. Then I simply dragged a rectangle around over the picture frame Skye was holding at approximately the same size and position. I needed this selection so I could grab the portion of the lighthouse layer I needed. When the selection was positioned where I wanted it, I switched back to the lighthouse layer and created a new layer via copy (Ctrl-J). Then I moved this new layer above the picture of Skye holding the frame.

All that was left to do was to position the painting inside the frame. To do this I used the Transform Distort tool from the Edit menu and zoomed in so I could position the painting precisely. I dragged the handles to the inside corners of the frame and, voila!

Easy as pie. It turned out just the way I imagined (albeit with more gray clouds than I would have liked). If you have any questions please leave a comment.

illusion · layers · lighthouse · maine · phl · photoshop · portland head light · processing · technique · trick

brentdanley

If you’ve visited my Flickr photostream lately you may think it’s turned into a travelogue. We have been having a great time in Vacationland.

Wednesday afternoon I did a L.L. Bean walk-on kayaking adventure in Casco Bay. It was an amazing time. The fog was thick as we paddled along the shore. Old sailing yachts were moored in the anchorage, ducks flew past just over the water, lobster boats chugged by, and a great blue heron fished near the rocks exposed by the low tide.

Thursday the girls and I boarded Island Romance for a six hour narrated cruise that snaked its way through the islands of Casco Bay to Bailey Island and back. We saw a whale, seals, lobsterman, lighthouses, millions of lobster buoys, and gorgeous islands rimmed with majestic granite cliffs and beautiful homes.

Kirsten and I are definitely in love with our new home. We cannot image anywhere we’d rather be. Isn’t that the way life should be?

adventure · casco bay · cruise · ferry · island · lighthouse · maine · travel