Machais Seal Island
I recently ventured to Grand Manan, New Brunswick with a new photography friend to photograph island life and the puffins of Machais Seal Island in the Bay of Fundy. Despite heavy fog during the ferry crossing to the island, the excitement was building as we anticipated photographing puffins, harbors and lighthouses. The fog remained thick throughout the day and the lighthouses proved to be unlike any
we had ever seen. The base structures of the lighthouses were square and the light structure often only consisted of a fog horn that could prove damaging to your eardrums which discouraged you from sticking around for long. This first day provided for a couple of fog filled photos, but little else.
After several trips up and down route 776 on the island, there was not a single photo to be had and the bad news continued with the cancellation of the journey to the Machais Seal Island due to rough seas. Thank goodness my new friend and I
shared a sense of humor a
nd adventure. Our sense of adventure did lead us into the woods of Grand Manan looking for a lighthouse that it turned out did not exist and to every beach, pond and overlook of which none produced a photo opportunity. We did exit the woods wondering why and how the bags hangin
g from trees deep in the woods filled with beer cans along the way came to be, but that will remain a mystery until we locate a local that can educate us. The day ended with confidence in the fact that we had traveled every inch of the island. All that remained was hope for a visit to the Machais Seal Island the next day.
Our third day on the island we found a sunrise location that was unfortunately lacking in splendor, but we stuck it out to the bitter end like any other hopeful photographer would. The afternoon presented clear skies and calmer seas as the trip to the Machais Seal Island was going forward as scheduled. We landed on the island following a short skiff ride and were oriented to the island which currently contains 8,000 pairs of puffins.The puffins come to the island to raise their young. The pufflings are not visible as they are protected from predators behind burrows in the island rocks. Photographing the puffins is a challenge from a wooden blind which contains 4 other photographers, with you guessed it, extensive telephoto lenses on a minimum of two cameras and through a six inch square hole to shoot from. We wasted no time getting to know each other and called out sightings of birds from each of our vantage points.
Puffins fly upwards to 50mph, making it challenging to catch them in flight. A bonus shot is when a puffin lands with a mouth full of fish and squid to feed to their pufflings. Following the time limited hour to photograph the puffins, our boat captain took us to the other side of the island to view seals sunning on the rocks and swimming along the rocky coast.
The Machais Seal Island can be accessed via boat tours originating from Cutler, Maine or Grand Manan, New Brunswick.
Visiting Machais Seal Island is highly recommended whether you are a photographer or not.
Carpe diem!
Sunrises and Sunsets in Life
As I sat on the shores of Lake Willoughby in Vermont last night, hopeful for a sweet golden hour and epic sunset, neither of which transpired, it was the couple in the canoe in the center of this frame that had me thinking. Thinking of opportunities that we do and and don't take. This couple pushed off from shore just prior to the golden hour and after the sun set, they drifted in the lake, one with the stillness of the beauty that was surrounding them. It is these opportunities in life that are the real gifts. Don't pass them up, but rather put more sunsets and sunrises in your life. You'll never regret those.
Maple sugaring open house weekend in Vermont-2023
According to the New England Maple Museum:
Maple sugaring is a deeply rooted farming tradition that has made Vermont the leading maple syrup producer in the United States. According to the USDA, Vermont produced a total of 2.07 million gallons of maple syrup in 2019! Maple sugaring is an age-old process that was discovered by the Native Americans hundreds of years ago and taught to the settlers that followed.
In early years Vermont’s agricultural farmers began sugaring as a way of supplementing their income during the winter months. In Vermont, the February school break was derived from the farmer’s need to have their children help tap the trees and get ready for the sugaring season. During these times, buckets were hung from the trees and gathered with horse drawn sleds with big wooden holding tanks to dump the sap into. Days would be spent feeding the evaporator and boiling the sap into maple syrup. Nowadays, modernization has made sugaring more efficient with the use of tubing, vacuum pumps, Reverse Osmosis machines and state of the art evaporators.
Maple sugaring has evolved into an industrious commodity with its many uses and nutritional qualities. Each sugar house and farm is unique in various way. The maple sugaring community is tight-knit and welcoming of all who visit. There is a solid consistency between each and every maple sugaring operation and that is – its deeply rooted in family tradition and whether using buckets to gather sap the “old traditional” way or by using tubing and modern technology – it remains HARD WORK!
This past weekend, I visited with the Temples family at the Burke Mountain Creamery in East Burke. This is a multi-generational family working together to produce maple syrup from their 9,000 taps on a picturesque hillside in Caledonia county. They are a prime example of hard-working Vermonters who are proudly passing along the history and traditions of their farm to the next generation. Thank you for sharing your knowledge about the maple sugaring process and the opportunity to meet your kind and welcoming family.
FOCUS
BIG NEWS! I retired recently, not from photography. That will never happen. Photography is an art that has been looming in the shadows of my life while I fulfilled my full-time profession in finance. Ever since I was a little girl playing pretend at my grandparents roll top desk after each school day, I envisioned myself working in a finance position.
Photography was something I never imagined for myself as a pursuit. It appeared in my life as I sought a path for sharing what my heart experienced out in the world. As I filled my days with helping businesses solve the financial and managerial issues that were preventing them from fulfilling their full potential, I myself recognized that my full potential had yet to be realized. There was always an artistic side that was untapped and unseen. Photography changed that for me.
There is no greater compliment than when someone says they are emotionally moved by a photo that you have captured or that they feel transported to the very spot that you captured a mesmerizing sunrise or sunset. These are the compliments that leave you knowing you touched someone. Touched someone in ways that are remembered and speak to the soul of who that person is.
As I retire not necessarily from something, but rather to something which is to pursue photography in a way that others can see what is in my heart. To share the joys of life through photography and feel my passion for something that thoroughly fulfills me….to see me. Sharing an intimate part of your soul is the most precious gift you can give to anyone.
Quoting Ansel Adams, “You don’t make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.”
Whatever your passion is, share it and let it live on.
Seasoned
Driving the back roads of Vermont and New Hampshire, I marvel at the construction of the old barns still standing, although many leaning long after the farm they once served has long since departed. These structures have character and no doubt were built to stand the test of time and weather conditions. The graying boards reflective of the passing of winter storms, howling winds, rain, and scorching sun tearing away at there once painted exterior. Leaving them looking tired and no longer able to serve the purpose for which they were originally constructed.
Despite the graying, worn look and lack of prime functionality, there remains beauty and in turn respect for how long and hard they have weathered each storm.
Like us as we turn silver gray, become tired and lean a bit more ourselves, we retain our beauty, albeit on the inside. We weather the storms that present so unfairly. Those storms shaping who we are on the inside. No matter how weathered one may look, may we take the time to look past the exterior and cherish each other for the beauty, knowledge and strength that lives in each of our hearts and souls.
