Rockport Massachusetts

Photography Hot Spot Location

Rockport Massachusetts Photography Hot Spot

Rockport is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,952 at the 2010 census. Rockport is located approximately 40 miles northeast of Boston at the tip of the Cape Ann peninsula. It is directly east of Gloucester and surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean on three sides.

Rockport is primarily a suburban residential and tourist town but still home to many lobster fishers and artists. Its rocky beaches and seaside parks are a favorite place for visitors from the Greater Boston Area and Rhode Island, among other locations.

There are excellent restaurants, shops, and beaches if you want more than just photography. You can rent kayaks and bikes. There are river cruises to take and beaches to visit, but the most recognizable spot is our Image above, Motif #1. A strange name but that is what it is called. It does make for a great photography spot.

Try to do something different such as our image above. It is one of the most photographed places in this state, so bring an ND filter and get some moving waters, or maybe a different angle from a boat might work. Be creative here. Don’t just come home with the same straight-on shot every other tourist in the world comes back with. It has brilliant colors, so shoot it in the sun to make them burst. It can be moody here, so do some night photography, and if you get lucky, you might get a misty morning.

There is a lot to do besides photography, but enough to keep you photographing for a day or more. There are a few things nearby to photograph. We were on our way out of the area and will be going back to explore more to show you the complete area.

Hammond Castle is nearby. Hammond Castle is located on the Atlantic coast in the Magnolia area of Gloucester, Massachusetts and offers some tremendous indoor photography opportunities. It is a backup plan for a cloudy or rainy day.

The Ocean Alliance Building is a great spot to shoot, and along the way, you will find fishing docks and some quaint little town photography.

Ocean Alliance is nearby to Rockport and a great photo hot spot in itself.

Nearby Hammond Castle is a great spot to get some interior and exterior photos. It is a good place to keep in mind for a rainy day.

Castle Manor Inn – Best Place to Stay when in Rockport.

See details below. Don’t stay anywhere else!

PHOTOGRAPHY INFORMATION

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

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Think Tank Camera Bags

AT A GLANCE

Lens: Wide Angle but you may find a bird or two. Not much wildlife here.

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

When to Go: The only time not to go is when they close the road down due to winter conditions. Check with the park before you go. Fall is ideal.

SHUTTER PRIORITY

If you have moving subjects, you will want to shoot in shutter priority to assure your shutter speed is high enough to have your subject in sharp focus. For people walking by, approximately 1/250th of a second is appropriate, and adjust your ISO accordingly. If they are running 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 exposing. 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.

If you don’t have a neutral density filter, you can buy one here. 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.

Photography Information – Rockport Massachusetts

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

Gear: To get started doing your photography bring your tripod and your circular polarizing filters. The CPL will make your puffy white 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. If there is not enough light when you are shooting, you will want to use it to get the depth of field, (higher F-stop). 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.

Hotel Information:

Castle Manor Inn

The Castle Manor Inn, 141 Essex Ave, Gloucester, Mass.

We wouldn’t stay anywhere else. We absolutely love this place. The breakfast spread had healthy options which we loved. Tell them Photography Magazine Extra sent you. The staff was amazing, the atmosphere perfect and the price was just right. Book your stay now by clicking here.

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AREA

INFORMATION

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No Fees to enter

CAMPING

Where to camp

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 your 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

Castle Manor Inn Restaurant Hours

Wed-Sat > dinner > 5p – 9p
Sat-Sun > breakfast à la carte > 8a – 12p
Sun > dinner > 4p – 7p

The Castle Manor Inn, 141 Essex Ave, Gloucester, Mass.

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 your information on your restaurant to make it easy for our photographers and ghost hunters to find you.

HOTELS

Add your hotel here!

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.

WEATHER

Area Weather:

Click here to see what the weather is in the 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!

Rockport Massachusetts

Photography Hot Spot Location