With Atlantic Puffins
June 2021
June 21st – June 25th, 2021
Capture scenes of the rugged coast of Maine
Acadia National Park Workshop with Atlantic Puffins
Dates: June 21st – June 25th 2021
Fee: $1,795 per person, $500.00 deposit at time of booking. Balance due by April 1st 2021.
Participants: Min. of 4, Max. of 8
Cutoff Date: December 1st, 2020
Skill Level: Amateur – Professional
Info: workshops@jonsteelephotography.com
Phone: 860-984-3810
Workshop Overview
Explore the rugged coast of Maine during this Acadia National Park Workshop. Late June is a great time to visit and photograph Acadia National Park and the surrounding area. In this workshop, we will explore the beauty of Acadia’s pink granite shorelines, it’s lush interior forests, the views from the park’s bald peaks and with the sea’s permission we will take a charter boat to Machias Seal Island to photograph the adult puffins as they gather food for their young. On the boat ride to Machias we will have the opportunity to photograph the Little River Lighthouse in Cutler Maine which is only visible from the water.
This workshop will be held in and around Acadia National Park on the coast of Maine where attendees will experience five days of nature and wildlife photography that can’t be matched on the east coast. The early part of the workshop is being held under the new moon. We will have a night or two where we will photography the Milky Way weather permitting. This workshop is suitable for any level of photographer from novice to professional.
About the Park
Acadia National Park, is the oldest National Park east of the Mississippi River and is considered by many to be the crown jewel of the National Park system on the right side coast. It features scenic mountains, shoreline, woodlands and lakes. The park is also home to Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse which is one of the iconic lighthouses that should be on your bucket list!
Workshop Features
- Learn how the histogram will help determine how you can capture the dynamic range of your scene.
- Learn how bracketing properly will help you achieve maximum detail in your images
- Learn how to use ND filters in the field and when to use the different types
- The importance of your remote control, whether hard wired or wireless
- Working in the digital darkroom, Lightroom and Photoshop instruction
- How to use focus stacking for increased Depth of Field
- Become familiar with using a DOF calculator
- Learn to look at a scene for differing compositional components
- Shot planning and the tools I use for location scouting and weather monitoring
Itinerary for the Acadia National Park Workshop
The Acadia National Park can get very very crowded on weekends and during the middle of the day. To avoid the crowds our workshop will be held during the week and we will be out early in the morning while most others are sleeping!.
Day 1: Attendee arrival day, plan to meet with the workshop group at 2 PM in the Bar Harbor area (location to be determined) for a meet and greet. We will then proceed to a location for sunset photography.
Days 2 & 4: Up before sunrise, the group will rendezvous and then proceed to a preselected sunrise photography location. After the sunrise shoot we will relocate to another location where we will shoot through mid to late morning, at which point we’ll take a break. We will reconvene mid-afternoon so that we can get to our location for sunset photography. One of these days we will leave early for the 2 hour drive to Cutler for our journey to the Puffins.
Day 5: Up before sunrise, the group will rendezvous and then proceed to a preselected sunrise photography location. We’ll shoot through late morning at which time the workshop will end.
Bring your laptop computer and we’ll review/critique photos as time and location allows, either in the field or at a yet to be determined meeting time & place
Accommodations
Lodging, meals and transportation not provided. We will be based out of the Best Western Acadia Park Inn and highly recommend making reservations as soon as you sign up for the workshop.
When arranging for your transportation you will not need a high clearance, off road vehicle. All of our driving will be on paved roads. The preference would be for workshop members to pool together in their vehicles when going out on location. This will help you to get to know other members of the group and to making parking availability at locations easier for all. A maximum of 3 participants will be able to ride with the host.
The closest major airport is Bangor International Airport. It is approximately 50 miles or 1.25 hours drive. Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport is a regional airport just 10 miles from Bar Harbor. Recently both Hertz and Enterprise started car rentals at this airport
Physical Difficulty
Strenuous hiking will not be part of this workshop. Many of the locations we visit will be close to the road. Some locations, however may involve a short round trip hike of upto 1.4 miles with no steep elevation gains. We will also be spending time shooting along the rocky coast of Acadia National Park. The terrain along the coast is very uneven and can be somewhat slippery. Hiking boots or sturdy walking shoes along with a modest level of health and fitness will greatly enhance your workshop experience.
IMPORTANT….The trip to photograph Atlantic Puffins will involve traveling 10 miles out into the Gulf of Maine aboard a 40 foot boat. It is about a 45 minute ride each way. Getting from the boat onto the island will entail transferring from the tour vessel into a large outboard powered skiff in the open water. While assistance is provided at every stage of the landing, conditions are slippery, and a degree of physical mobility and surefootedness is required. You may get your feet wet.
Once on the island you will be sharing a blind with 2-3 other folks for about 1 hour while photographing the birds. There are four blinds on the island, you will not be able to move between blinds.
You will be asked to sign a waiver to participate
What to Bring
- Digital SLR Camera
- Wide-angle to telephoto lenses. I usually cover from 17mm-500mm with my lenses but 17-300mm will work also. Note that for star photography you will need a wide angle lense that opens up to f4 or better. Also note that when photographing the puffins the longer the lens the better. Though you can get shots with 300mm, I would consider renting a longer lens for good close ups.
- Sturdy Tripod, tripods are not allowed in blinds when photographing Puffins.
- Camera remote control
- Filters including polarizing and Neutral Density both graduated and solid
- Memory cards
- Headlamp
- Extra camera batteries, make sure your headlamp has fresh batteries also. Laptop (not required but useful for image editing and storage)
- Camera manual
- Sturdy walking shoes or hiking boots
- Rain gear for both you and your camera.
- Warm Jacket. Late spring temperatures average from a low of 49 to a high of 71.
Booking Acadia National Park Workshop with Atlantic Puffins
You can sign up for the Acadia National Park Workshop securely using your credit card via the Book Your Workshop link on this page or by calling Jonathan Steele Photography at 860-984-3810.
There is a $500.00 deposit due at time of signup and the remaining balance is due in full by April 1st 2020.
This workshop will go rain or shine with the noted exception of inclement weather cancelling the Puffin Tour. If this happens a portion of the workshop fee will be refunded.
We must have 4 signups by the cutoff date of December 1st 2020 or the workshop may be cancelled and refunds issued to those who signed up.
No refunds will be issued after the cutoff date of December 1st 2020 unless it is a result of Jonathan Steele Photography cancelling the Acadia National Park Workshop.
