You can’t go to coastal New England without photographing at least one lighthouse, so on our way to Acadia National Park, we decided to focus on the iconic Whaleback Lighthouse during the Full Hunter’s Moon. This historic lighthouse was important for trade and commerce as it brought ships into Boston and Portsmouth, NH.
We had never been to this area, so we spent a lot of time studying maps and planning our moon shot, knowing it would be tricky with little time to navigate the rugged, rocky shoreline. When we arrived, there were already some local photographers, but they were set up on the beach, far from where we thought alignment would occur along the bedrock. We checked our plan again and decided to stay the course. It was possible they weren’t shooting the moon rising behind the lighthouse, though it was the one day it was possible for the year.
When the moon rose, we heard the photographers yelling and scrambling over the rocky terrain to our exact location, though it was too late. I felt for them, but at least they were locals and could try again next year. The lesson learned for me and Ken was: despite what the crowd is doing, don’t take your own planning and knowledge for granite.
Thanks to Paz, our resident comic, for inspiring me. He’s been challenging our family to pun wars, but we lava him anyway. And I’m on a rock ’n’ roll.
