Bennett Christiansen of Kittery, Maine, has shared his stunning Maine photographs with us before, and even sat down to speak with NRCM’s Beth Comeau about his love of photography. You can read that full interview in our Maine Environment spring 2019 newsletter.
This week, Bennett shares photos from a recent trip to Midcoast Maine. Thank you, Bennett!
Daybreak (Pemaquid Point at sunrise)
The rain was falling on my tired face, onto the rocks, all slippery, reflecting the reds and pinks and purples glowing in the sky above. I turned around to peak at the thundering coastline, gleaming with the sun’s very first light below a gentle rainbow. A familiar smell, the one only of Maine’s shores, and a flickering beam on a white tower that all the Earth’s scars beneath my feet lead to, put me into that zone; the zone where you wish you could just make time stand still for a while. It’s the zone that I feel most alive and human, connecting with the landscape through the lens of the camera; the zone that makes me want to stare at barnacles and rock formations for eternity, wondering how many thousands of years shaped it into what it is in front of my eyes. That zone is the reason I’m a photographer, and also the reason I love this coast so much. I could spend every moment of my whole life capturing it. Of course, there is nothing else I could’ve asked for on the one time of the year I dedicate to reflecting upon my journey so far, than an amazing sunrise on the Gulf Of Maine. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store.
Stars Over Pemaquid Point
I went on a short camping trip this weekend to the Mid-Coast for my birthday, and got some great weather for milky way photography. This is one of my new favorite lighthouses. Rather than create a composite image, I shot this as a single exposure, which was difficult because of how bright the lighthouse was. I used my filter pouch as a black card, covering up part of the lens when the light flashed, which darkened it enough to save most of the highlights.
