Bold Coast of Maine

Join me for 4 nights along the Bold Coast of Maine in Lubec, a small fishing village which also happens to be the easternmost town in the US, with the darkest night skies on the East Coast. With lighthouses, rugged ocean cliffs, fishing boats, bald eagles, and seals, this is an amazing place to photograph!

We'll also drive over the bridge to Campobello Island, Canada, for wildlife, lighthouses, and sunset.

The lodging package includes all 4 nights of private non-shared lodging all to yourself, in a room at Cohill's Inn in Lubec.

This is a landscape photography workshop with a focus on landscape astrophotography of the Milky Way as conditions permit. The workshop is scheduled around the new moon so that we have dark, moonless skies every night. This is the coast of Maine after all and clear skies are not guaranteed, but with 4 nights we have a lot of chances — and the fog here makes for amazing photos too! This area is also great for dramatic sunrises and sunsets.

This is a small group with plenty of one-on-one time. I live here and have been photographing this coast for many years, so I know where to be and when.

We generally do not use light painting on this workshop.

Moderate hiking on rugged coastal trails with steep sections, hills, and loose rock beaches.

We may do a bit of hiking during some days, possibly 1-2 miles round trip depending on the schedule. This is on rugged coastal trails with exposed roots, rocks, and small hills. Other days there will be little or no hiking.

At night we do far less hiking but it can still be uneven or rocky terrain. All night spots we visit are short hikes, half mile or so one way, unless the group is up for a longer hike.

Please advise me of any mobility issues. If you are unable to hike this is probably not a good fit.

The workshop starts and ends in Lubec, Maine. You'll need your own vehicle to get around during the workshop. If you're renting a car, confirm with the rental company that you can take it into Canada for our Campobello Island trip.

Bangor, Maine (BGR) is the closest major airport and there are rental cars available there. Lubec is about a 2 to 2.5 hour drive from Bangor. You could also fly into Portland, roughly a 4 hour drive to Lubec.

Lodging package ($3750): All 4 nights of lodging are booked for you at Cohill's Inn in Lubec.

• Cohill's Inn, Lubec · 4 nights · check-in Aug 2, check-out Aug 6
  A private room with your own bathroom. Rooms are on the 2nd and 3rd floor, there is no elevator.

Base price ($2990): You book and pay for your own lodging.

RVs: You can also bring your own RV and camp instead of using the lodging — just choose the base price. There's Sunset Point RV Park in Lubec and Herring Cove Provincial Park Campground on Campobello Island.

In addition to your camera, lenses, batteries, etc, you must have the following:

• Night photography lens — For full frame cameras this would be a 14mm f/2.8 lens or similar, for crop cameras you'll want 12mm f/2.8 or similar. I would also recommend lenses in the 24mm, 35mm, and 50mm range with fast apertures (f/2 or better) for different compositions with the Milky Way core. Ask me if you have questions!
• Sturdy tripod. Don't cheap out here, you will regret it if we're shooting in the wind!
• Remote shutter release with timer and extra batteries, preferably one with a programmable timer. Or your camera may have an intervalometer and/or bulb timer built in, many newer cameras have this. If you're not sure then you can ask me in your application below.
• Lens warmer to keep your lens fog-free at night — I will have enough available to loan to everyone if you don't have your own. Something like thisMove Shoot Move lens heaterwith thisAnker batteryis what you want (with velcro, gaffer tape, or some pouch to attach the battery to your tripod). You can use any USB battery pack but this Anker one is small and light and will power the lens heater for 4-5 hours.
• Proper footwear — Hiking boots recommended for some outings.
• Warm clothing - It can get cold on the coast at night, expect it to drop into the 50s in the summer, and 40s or 30s in June and September.
• Headlamp with a red LED mode. Your headlamp MUST have a red LED mode on it to limit the amount of light that will get into the shots of other workshop participants and to help preserve your night vision. One like thisBlack Diamond Cosmoworks very well.
• If we have any editing sessions — Laptop for editing your photos. To get the most out of the editing sessions you MUST have up to date versions of Lightroom Classic (or other professional raw editor) and Photoshop installed.
  PLEASE NOTE: Lightroom is NOT THE SAME AS Lightroom Classic.

$3750 per person with the lodging package, or $2990 per person if you book your own lodging or bring your RV.

A $1000 deposit is required to book your spot; the balance is due April 1, 2027. Half the deposit is refundable if you cancel before then — see the FAQ for the full cancellation policy.

Meals, transportation, and camera gear are your responsibility.

Please fill out the form below to request your spot in the workshop. I'll check your equipment list to see if it will work for the workshop and I'll e-mail you back with information on how to pay the tuition online.

You must be 18 years of age or older. By filling out this form you acknowledge that you understand the weather and cancellation policies.