STL DPB IN ACADIA

Acadia is the name used for a swath of the State of Maine from the Kenebec River and the town of Bath and then northeast from where I'm staying up into what are now the Canadian maritime provinces. The area was intensely disputed between the English and French in the 17th and 18th Centuries. The population is thin when you get mush back from the coast. The region is marked by water, wood, rock and fishing. It is gorgeous at this time of year but the winters are hard. This is a little waterfall that flows into the harbor at Camden, just up the road from camera camp.

Today is our last day. There is a traditional Friday night lobster dinner and a spectacular AV show of the students' work from the week.      

STL DPB IS NOT IN IRELAND

Belfast, Maine, is twenty minutes up the coast from camera camp. It is surprisingly big for this area and it's hard to guess what supports it. There is a fishing port but it's not like the big trawlers are coming in and out. There is no university, no significant factories. Maybe a little lumber - Maine has more trees than anybody in their right mind would need. Our little class stopped there on our way to points farther north.

 

We worked pretty hard. My Apple Watch, if you can trust it, says that I had more than double my daily quota of exercise. I'm pooped but there are two more days to go.           

 

STL DPB IN THE CREEPY MAINE WOODS

The classes here at the Maine Media Workshops have a pattern. We review the students' work from the previous afternoon, go through a presentation and discussion with the teacher and, after lunch, go out driving around the small towns and forests of Maine looking for interesting places to make images. I found this doll at Elmer's Antiques close to Augusta, the state capital. We can be overwhalmed by the visual details but this cousin of Chucky  got my attention.

STL DPB IN SCHOOL - DAHLIAS

So here I am in photographers heaven, The Maine Media Workshops. From late spring to early fall they run week-long work-your-rear-off programs in every aspect of photography, video and cinema. I've been here five times and it's where I learned a lot of what craft I have. However, my last visit was 10 years ago.

This time I'm taking a course just in photographic composition with a renowned photographer, Harold Davis. Our first day's assignment was about circles and lines. We went to the remarkable Endless Summer Flower Farm, which had dahlias as far as the eye (or your lens) can see. I'm really out of my element - this isn't the kind of work I usually do. However, I think that pushing my limits will make me a better photographer.

STL DPB AT SEA - ON THE SCHOONER APPLEDORE 2

Free day yesterday. I decided to take a two hour excursion on the schooner Appledore 2. (No relation to Dumbledore, I presume.) It left Camden harbor with its crew of three for a tour around the neighboring islands and the edge of the open ocean. This picture was taken while motor powered as we were heading out and not yet under sail. By the way, the crew was just terrific.

My course this week is about composition in photography. Our teaches asked us to read his book on the subject and I tried to incorporate some of his principals. Now down to work.