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Pemaquid Point lighthouse, Maine, milky way color burst by Pamela Goodyer famous photographer

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Maine Lighthouses, Milky Way & Night Photography

We traveled this route over several days. First of all, you will want to be sure to check out our Dark Sky Resources page to determine the ideal conditions for milky way viewing before planning your trip. The locations that we have picked for you are dark sky locations, but you will have to check the new moon/moon rise charts and be sure to go in the right month with a clear weather forecast. We were able to shoot for four nights before the clouds arrived, therefore, we ended our trip. It was a beautiful stretch of perfect weather, and it was also during the week of meteor showers in August of 2015. As a result, you will see many meteors in our images.

The Lighthouse State

With 65 historical lighthouses still existing along the 5,000 miles of coastline, Maine is well known as the Lighthouse State. Many of Maine’s lighthouses are not accessible since you must take a boat tour to see them to get the best images. You can get some good shots with zoom lenses from the mainland at some locations, but you do need to be at a decent distance to do good night time milky way photography so not all lighthouses are ideal for this purpose. Here are our favorites where you can stand right next to the lighthouse and get your images.

Maine lighthouse photo tour map, photography

See interactive google map below. Click on images for details.

Interactive Google map – Click on it

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Pam Goodyer - Nubble Light House Photography Magazine Extra milky way

In August 2015 during the meteor shower highlights.

Milky Way Photography in the dark night sky in Maine

In August around 11 p.m. the milky way is to the south (right) of the lighthouse. There is quite a bit of noise pollution here, Freudian slip, we hate noise but meant light pollution.

Pam Goodyer Nubble Light house milky way photography magazine extra

Daytime Photos of the lighthouse. Checking it out for night photography too. 2 stones.

Cape Neddick Lighthouse, or Nubble Lighthouse

Cape Neddick Lighthouse or Nubble Light is located just a few hundred feet off of York Beach, and many tourists come to see its beauty. When we were there the milky way was very high up over the lighthouse when the sunset. The rich section of the milky way was in the opposite viewing direction.

Photography by Pamela Goodyer for Photography Magazine Extra©

Portland Head Lighthouse

The oldest lighthouse in Maine is located inside Fort Williams – 1000 Shore Road, Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107 – Welcoming nearly a million visitors a year, it is not a location we stopped at for an extended visit. We found this lighthouse along our trail but unfortunately, this park closes at dusk so don’t plan on doing any lighthouse milky way photography here. \

Portland Head Lighthouse is a good stopping point along the trail to get some images of a daytime lighthouse. There is a food truck here with a very long line, a hike along the coastline and a few other things to photograph. It is not an ideal location with our high standards. Unfortunately, this is a plain old tourist attraction not made for incredible dynamic photography. We include it only as a resting point and a place to see some history and go to their museum and be a tourist for a short time. Yes, you can get some good image with long exposure on the water of the lighthouse but not too much more than that.

Porpoise Maine

This is a great little spot due to its colors. You can shoot this location a hundred different ways and edit it so many ways and it still looks wondrous.

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse

The Bristol Parks and Recreation Department operates the lighthouse and outbuildings as Pemaquid Point Lighthouse Park. This is one of our favorite lighthouses to photograph along the Maine Coast. Also, it makes dramatic daytime pictures and some pretty outstanding milky way shots. This is a tranquil location off the beaten path, and tourists do not overrun it. You can also take a puffin tour during the daytime. Be sure to bring your zoom lens. You don’t really get too close.

The keeper’s house is now the Fishermen’s Museum at Pemaquid, which contains displays and artifacts of the lighthouse and local maritime history. Opened in 2008, the Learning Center is a community resource for offering movies, classes, and concerts. Other activities in the park include viewing the lighthouse, picnicking, and viewing local paintings at the Pemaquid Art Gallery.

mIlky way photography Maine, lighthouse Pam Goodyer

Just a fantastic location for milky way photography.

Milky way Pemaquid Lighthouse Maine Photography Magazine Extrar

We left the image tilted since it gave a feeling of being on another planet.

Maine Photography Hot Spot Locations, where to do photography, areas, spots,

Milky Way way photography Maine, lighthouse Pam Goodyer

A little light painting. See more images on our hot spot page. Check out our light painting page too.

Pemaquid Point lighthouse area cabins with the milky way in the galaxy behind the cabin and the boat dock at the lake.

Ye Olde Forte Cabins – Peaceful Accommodations by the Sea • Pemaquid Beach, Maine (Image to the left, cabin and milky way)

We wouldn’t stay anywhere else when at Pemaquid Point! After photographing your lighthouse images, you can go back to your cabin and sit outside and get some more milky way right at your doorstep. These adorable, comfortable cabins are the best place to stay since you can do photography right at your door or down at the water by the dock and get a perfect view of the milky way. We loved the coziness and the owner is just fabulous. Also, they have a large cabin that is great if you are bringing your family along or you have a group of photographers. Hence, it is a great place to stay.

Click here to go to their website and book your cabin.

“I feel like this is a microcosm of what the world should be,” says Barbara Flewelling when interviewed for Down East Magazine.

We hope to see Barbara this spring 2018 since we plan to take our crew back to the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse.

Pemaquid Point Maine, Ye Old Forte Cabins, photography

Click here for cabins and rates.

Maine cabins on the water in a row, Ye old forte cabins

Baily’s Island Maine – Dark Sky Photography Location

Bailey Island is an island in Casco Bay, and a part of the town of Harpswell, in Cumberland County, Maine. The island has a year-round population of over 400. Although there are no lighthouses on this island, this is a great dark sky location. While Lands End Gift shop is located at the southernmost tip of the island there is an excellent view with rugged rocks, a statue and blaring milky way above. Check it out during the daytime and visit the store at the same time to prepare for your nighttime milky way shots. Furthermore, there are several bays with boat docks to photograph with interesting angles. If you get some puffy white clouds, you could get some good stuff on this island.

Where to Eat

Where to eat and do sunset photography – More’s Cribstone Grill – Go here. Go early. It is the most popular place. We could not wait because we showed up at prime time. We went down the street to a place with one car in the parking lot. Starving to death, we gave it a try. Now I know why there was one car in the parking lot. Don’t go to Giant Stairs Seafood Grill. You will most likely be disappointed. Go early to Moree’s

Where to Stay

The Driftwood Inn – You can shoot Milky Way photography down the street and at your front door. We liked the atmosphere and the breakfast at this location. It was an excellent bang for your buck, and the milky way is blaring outside on the grounds with a ton of deliciously sounding waves crashing at the base of the location. Always be quiet when you are out late at night steps from your room doing milky way photography of course, but the wave sounds will drown out your noises. The Inn is different from any you have known with its oceanfront location on the outermost island in Casco Bay. Driftwood is the oldest Inn on Bailey Island and has been in continuous operation for over 100 years. Our three acres offer space for relaxation, the sun, and fresh sea breezes. Bailey Island is

two and a half miles long by one-half mile wide, with a variety of picturesque views and breathtaking sunsets.

Bailys island Maine milky way photography statue

Lands End the southern most tip of Baileys Island, Maine

How to Shoot Milky Way and Night Sky Photography

Milky Way photography.

Use a Tripod – You must be on a tripod. A good sturdy tripod is necessary if it is windy. If your tripod moves, your picture will blur.

Focus – Use live view. When you use live view, your mirror locks up, and it does not drop so avoid any movement at all inside the camera. To focus the camera in the dark use your camera’s live view and focus on a bright star. You can also use the infinity setting on your lens but do several test shots to see if it is accurate. It can be a little off on some lenses. If you have subject matter like a tree, shine a flashlight on the tree to obtain focus then carefully without touching the focus switch it to manual focus. Do this each time you change your shot.

Manual Mode – Set your camera to manual mode so you can control the Aperture and the shutter speed.

ISO

Start with ISO 3200. This is just a standard starting point, and you will adjust from here. Remember the higher the ISO, the more digital noise you will have.

Aperture

The depth of field isn’t critical on these shots but letting the light in the camera is. Therefore you shoot wide open. (The lowest aperture your camera will allow).

Shutter Speed

Meanwhile, you have the ISO and Aperture set in Manual Mode. Now roll your shutter speed until your meter reads (0) zero. Take a test shot and adjust from there.

Remember the earth is rotating. If you leave the shutter open for too long, you will see star trails which will not make for a crisp image. You can make star trails specifically, but that’s not what we are going for here since we are starting with Milky Way photography. We want crisp non-star trail images when doing this. Here is the formula to avoid star trails. The 500 rule – Divide 500 by the focal length of your lens. So, if you have a 24mm lens on a full-frame camera, you will set your shutter speed to 20 sec. (500/24 = 20.83). If you are using a crop sensor camera, you should first do the math of the crop sensor to find the focal length. Cannon is 1.6, Nikon is 1.5. Convert to full frame focal length then use the formula. Nikon 18mm x 1.5= 27mm – 500/27 = 18.51 seconds.

White Balance

Shoot your night photography raw so you can easily edit your images and have more information to work with than if you shot JPEG. When in live view mode you can change your white balance settings and see which looks best for you on each shot. You can shoot in the shade or cloud as a standard setting and adjust things later. Add in color in your milky way to match the subject whilst editing in the image if you would like to.

Those are all of the basic starting points for doing your Milky Way shots. You will want to find some exciting foreground to make your shot dynamic. Doing plain old Milky Way shots will not win you any awards.

Park and Area Information:

Entrance Fees: None

Hotel Information:

Milky way photography outside your doorstep at both locations. See details in the article above with photographs.

Ye Old Forte Cabins – 18 Old Fort Road – Pemaquid Beach, ME 04554-4522 – Tel: 207-677-2261 –

Click here for cabins and rates. In the offseason please contact: Barbara Flewelling – Tel: 856-988-1395

When in the Bailey’s Island area stay at the Driftwood Inn. Click here for their website and information.

The Driftwood Inn – 81 Washington Ave. – Bailey Island, ME 04003

Telephone: 207-833-5461

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