"Pemaquid vantage point," Maine, May 2008

Vantage point

One of my favorite spots in one of my favorite states is Pemaquid Point in Maine. Very few are the trips to Vacationland when I haven't driven through New Harbor to the lighthouse on the rocks. As a kid, I ran and climbed along the rocks; as I got older, I explored more slowly, looking for new images and new angles to shoot to take the memories home with me.

It's one of Maine's most photographed lighthouses, and this shot is my imitation of the familiar images of the beacon.

"Down the spiral staircase," Maine, May 2008

All the way down

Descending the spiral staircase of a lighthouse -- in this case, Pemaquid Point, Maine -- can be tougher than the climb. Pemaquid's a short tower (only 38 feet) isn't that bad, but climbing one of New Jersey's three sister towers -- Barnegat, Absecon (in Atlantic City) or Cape May, the shortest of which is 157 feet -- involves a rather simple, if arduous, climb to the lantern. You can pull yourself up with the railing and focus your eyes on the steps in front of you.

But going down, you slide your hand along the brass rail and watch the steps in front of you. The vertigo creeps in and the windows notched in the brick walls provide a good excuse to take a break and look out into the distance, giving your eyes a rest from the monotony of the winding stairs below you. It doesn't help that the wrought-iron steps have holes in them (easier to keep them clean and provide traction when wet, I'd imagine) so that you can see way, way down.

Made in Maine, May '80: On the point at Pemaquid

Vantage point

I must've shot this lighthouse more than any other, with every camera I've ever owned, beginning with my first -- a Kodak disk point-and-shoot. It may be 500 miles from where I grew up, but I have to have photographed it more than Twin Lights or Sandy Hook, only minutes from home. But those, I'd visit on a whim, not always with a camera, and I always knew I could go back at any time to shoot them. At Pemaquid, I always start from behind the light, walking from the parking lot toward the tower, then make my way down to the rocks and around the point, covering it from every angle. It's a tradition, a ritual, one I expect to continue on future visits.

Made in Maine, May '08: Churning sea at Pemaquid Point

Churning sea at Pemaquid Point

The weather during our trip was amazing. When we left Bar Harbor on this morning, it looked like this. During the three-hour drive, we passed through some intermittent as well as steady rain. When we arrived at Pemaquid, we had blue skies and wispy clouds above a surging ocean.

After leaving Pemaquid, it began raining again, but stopped shortly after we arrived at my uncle's house an hour later (with a stop at Round Top for ice cream).

Then we had clear skies again, for the most part.