Baxter State Park Maine - Photography Hot Spot June 8, 2023

Baxter State Park Photography Hot Spot Location

and New England Outdoor Center.

Where to do Photography in Maine

Baxter State Park is a large wilderness area permanently preserved as a state park, located in Piscataquis County in north-central Maine. It is in the North Maine Woods region.

The park was established by 28 donations of land, in trust, from Park donor Percival P. Baxter between 1931 and 1962, eventually creating a park of over 200,000 acres in size. Baxter Park is not part of the Maine State Park system. Sole governance is provided by the Baxter State Park Authority, consisting of the Maine Attorney General, the Maine Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and the Director of the Maine Forest Service.

The park is independently funded through a combination of revenues from trusts, user fees, and the sale of forest products from the park’s Scientific Forest Management Area. The park is home to the state’s highest peak, Mount Katahdin. The number of visitors to the park declined from 75,000 in 2000 to 55,000 in 2005, but since 2005 visitor use has been slowly increasing.

New England Outdoor Center

Photo taken at New England Outdoor Center before our moose boat tour.

One of Photography Magazines Favorite Places to Stay – 2018. A moose tour at New England Outdoor Center is an absolute must! The cabins are incredible and the tour starts just a short walk from your cabin!!

Rekindle Your Spirit of Adventure at New England’s Top Adventure Resort.

We wouldn’t stay anywhere else! The New England Outdoor Center is the home of Twin Pine Cabins, the Penobscot Outdoor Center, and the River Drivers Restaurant. Voted Top Adventure Resort in New England by Yankee Magazine, NEOC comprises all the essential pieces for an unforgettable Maine spring and summer vacation.

There are summer and outdoor winter activities At New England Outdoor Center. We took the moose tour. We were taken deep into the lake areas by boat where the moose are known to gather. Of course, we saw moose even though it was the hottest day of the year. It was a great boat ride, and we all got great shots.

Baxter State Park Photography Basics

Waterfall Photography Simplified
Quickly learn how to shoot waterfall photography
Neutral Density Filters Explained
Everything you need to know about ND filters.

Basic Photography Settings
Learn the basics of photography
Milky Way Photography Guide
Quickly learn how to shoot Milky Way photography

where to do photography, photography hot spots, photography locations, destinations, areas, travel, magazine

Think Tank Camera Bags

How to do Photography in Maine – Baxter State Park

Lens: This area is definitely a wide-angle and zoom lens location.

Gear: Make sure you bring your tripod and your circular polarizing filters. The CPL will make your white puffy clouds burst and deepen the blue sky color around them. It will also take the glare off the water and replace it with the reflection. Bring your tripod too. It is also a dark sky milky way photography hot spot location so bring your tripod! Don’t forget your ND filter in case if you want to shoot moving waters.

Gear List at a Glance: Circular polarizing filter, neutral density filter, tripod, shutter release, wide-angle, and zoom lens.

When to Go: Weekdays, when it is slightly offseason, is best. This is a tourist town, so be prepared for people. Keep in mind this is also a milky way dark sky area, so you might want to plan your trip around a new moon or the week before during milky way week.

SHUTTER PRIORITY

If you have moving subjects, you will want to shoot in shutter priority to ensure your shutter speed is high enough to have your subject in sharp focus. Approximately 1/250th of a second is appropriate for people walking by, and adjust your ISO accordingly. If they run fast, increase your shutter speed to about 1/500th of a second. A fast bird flying by would be shot at about 1/1000th of a second. If it’s a bright sunny day, go as high as 1/1200th of a second. Remember, the higher your shutter speed, the less light comes into the camera. It should not be an issue outside during daytime hours. For More Details, see our Shutter Priority Page.

MANUAL MODE

You have moving waters here. You can do your long-exposure running and milky water shots. You will have to use a tripod for this effect. Your settings will vary depending on the lighting and your neutral density filter. You will shoot in manual mode for the milky waters. ISO is always 100 or as low as your camera will allow. The aperture is f22. Your shutter speed will be the only variable depending on the light. Roll your shutter speed until your meter reads zero. (In the center) Use your shutter release or your 2-second timer to prevent camera movement when exposed. You will want at least a 2-second exposure for milky water. If you don’t have a neutral density filter, you may not get more than 1/15th of a second in the sun.

We highly suggest you do not go anywhere without one. It makes all the difference between lifeless images and outstanding, dynamic images.

APERTURE PRIORITY

Aperture Priority is often used to blur the background of your images and control your depth of field (how much from the subject to the background is in focus). For more information on this – see our Aperture page

ISO

The higher you set it, the more light comes in when exposing an image. The higher the number, the more digital noise, so if possible, stay below 800. If you need to go higher to get the shot, you can use Topaz Denoise to filter out the digital noise later.

Other Great, Jaw-dropping, fabulous Photography Locations

See all of our travel-related articles.

Or you can search for photography hot spot locations by state.

If you want to do milky way photography plus daytime photography you can search in our milky way hot spot section.

AREA

INFORMATION

Baxter State Park Info

Entrance Fees:

Baxter State Park – $15.00, Season – $40.

CAMPING

Where to Camp at Baxter State Park

Do you want us to send our photography and ghost-hunting friends to your campground to stay during their ghost-hunting trip? Put your campground information here. We will put a picture of your establishment, the website link, the phone number, and the information on your campground to make it easy for our photographers and ghost hunters to find you. They are good at getting there in the dark.

Would you like to be featured in an article as a place to stay while doing photography or ghost hunting? If so, please send us an email. You will be surprised at how affordable our prices can be.

FOOD & DINING

Restaurants Near Baxter State Park

NEW ENGLAND OUTDOOR CENTER – 30 Twin Pines Rd, Millinocket, ME 04462, USA

This is where we eat when we go to Baxter State Park.

Add your Restaurant here!

Do you want us to send our photography and ghost-hunting friends to your restaurant after their ghost-hunting trip? Put your restaurant information here. We will put a picture of your establishment, the website link, the phone number, and the information on your restaurant to make it easy for our photographers and ghost hunters to find you.

HOTEL

INFORMATION

Hotels Near Baxter State Park

Do you want us to send our photography and ghost-hunting friends to your hotel for their photography or ghost-hunting trip? Put your hotel information here. We will put pictures of your hotel, the website link, the phone number and your information on your hotel.

Would you like to be a featured hotel like this article or this one? Please send us an email. You will be surprised at how affordable our prices can be.

Hotel Information

NEW ENGLAND OUTDOOR CENTER – 30 Twin Pines Rd, Millinocket, ME 04462, USA

See the images above. We only stay here when visiting Baxter State Park.

WEATHER?

Area Weather

Click here to see what the weather is at Baxter State Park.

Check out the weather

Don’t forget that you can use a rain sleeve on your camera if it is raining. If it is bright and sunny, you want to use a low ISO such as 100.

If you are doing photography along with your ghost hunting on cloudy days, you can do running water or waterfall photography to avoid the glaring sun. You can also use an ND filter to get a long exposure for dramatic effects, even in the sunshine. If you ghost hunt indoors in abandoned places, be careful!

Go to our Photography Store after reading all about waterfall photography or neutral density filters.

Baxter State Park Photography Hot Spot Location

and New England Outdoor Center.

Where to do Photography in Maine

New England Outdoor Center

Rekindle Your Spirit of Adventure at New England’s Top Adventure Resort.

Baxter State Park Photography Basics

Waterfall Photography Simplified

Neutral Density Filters Explained

Basic Photography Settings

Milky Way Photography Guide

Think Tank Camera Bags

How to do Photography in Maine – Baxter State Park

SHUTTER PRIORITY

MANUAL MODE

APERTURE PRIORITY

ISO

Other Great, Jaw-dropping, fabulous Photography Locations

AREA

INFORMATION

Baxter State Park Info

CAMPING

Where to Camp at Baxter State Park

FOOD & DINING

Restaurants Near Baxter State Park

HOTEL

INFORMATION

Hotels Near Baxter State Park

Hotel Information

WEATHER?

Area Weather

Photography Lessons

Ghost Hunting

Photography/Ghost Hunting

Photography Contests