This is a location I’ve not visited in the 30+ years I’ve been going to the park. It’s a little tricky access and on this particular morning the rocks were a bit slick. The slipperiness depends on how high the tides come in and how powerful the surges. The kelp deposited doesn’t help either. I went there with a friend and we found another half dozen photographers already set up. I stayed a little behind everyone else for a different angle than they were shooting and actually lay down, lounging on some surprisingly comfy boulders. As you can see they are well-rounded from rolling around against each other in the daily tidal rises and falls along with harsh winter weather. A friend calls the beach a rock polisher. Otter Cliffs are in the distance.
This was a second day with a strong cloud bank on the horizon but, as with yesterday’s post, there were a few breaks which allowed some warmth to shine on the shoreline.
Now that I know how to get down there, I’ll bring a pair of non-skid water shoes with me next year. 🙂
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
Wonderful capture of the early morning light hitting the sides of the rounded rocks, Steve. That was a great creative choice to get so low. It’s so easy to just come to a spot and place the tripod and never consider other options. I remember watching a video by one landscape tripod who emphasized the importance of considering multiple options and perspectives before opening up a tripod.
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Thanks, Mike. I usually do try to look for all the angles, sometimes choosing one or shooting several. In this case I knew right away I wanted the boulders to dominate but not in a frame filling way. I think it’s a good balance and leads the eye to the cliffs, my secondary objective.
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I like this one a lot Steve. Well done. Nice light and great composition.
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Thanks, Terry. Wish I hadn’t waited 35 years to do it.
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A place I have not seen in a good while. I do love the Lowcountry, but there are some places we miss.
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I’ve always felt comfortable in the mountains and hills of the northeast. I spent one year living on flat as a pancake Nantucket and couldn’t wait to return to WMass.
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Flat is different. Wife is from N.Maine, we lived CT for years. Now… VERY flat Lowcountry swamps and marshes. Sea level flat LOL.
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This is beautiful. I love the recurring gold glow on the rocks receding off into the distance — more a pattern than a rhythm in this case. Getting low was exactly the right thing to do.
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We didn’t quite get the intense warmth of the rising sun we had hoped for, the other photographers and I, but there was enough side light to create just the feel I was hoping for even with the somewhat cooler light. It’s our first impulse to slide out the tripod legs to eye height but photographers need to get on down. Thanks, Michael.
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The softly muted morning light is perfect for those gorgeous rocks. I love those beautiful rocks.
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The rocks are loaded with pink granite and when the strongest light hits them the really glow. But muted is pleasing too and I am happy you enjoy this image, Yvonne. Thanks.
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The light really makes the picture sing – on the boulders especially, but on the cliffs and in the sky too. Lovely!
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I had been hoping for stronger light, but this more moderate temperature does give a nice balance to the entire composition. Thanks, Ann.
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I’ve seen quite a few mentions of JMW Turner recently, this beach looks more like an ankle-turner. And it’s a great shot, with all these granite eggs or loaves of bread, lit up beautifully, and the rounded shapes with angular cliffs behind them. I like this one a lot! 🙂
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Ha! I was very concerned about turning and ankle…or a knee…or my skull. Reclining was the best position and, as it turned out, the best viewpoint for the image. It is impressive that rocks can create such smooth surfaces banging against each other in a strong surf. Thanks, Robert.
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Yes, that does look rather slippery for walking! I’ve only been to Acadia once, and I remember all the rocks and boulders. You did a super job capturing them from this point of view.
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Maine is known for rocky shorelines and Acadia is very much a part of that. They don’t necessarily stay put either as the seasons and tides push them around.Thanks, Carol.
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It’s amazing, really, that you have your previous, blocky chunks of rock and these rolled and polished stones into one frame. It’s a reminder of how much difference a short distance can make in the effects of wind and water. I had a friend who liked to polish rocks, and his tumbler ran day and night, but the biggest one I remember him producing was about 4″ long. These are in another class entirely. They look like worry stones for a giant.
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Worry stones for a giant…I like that. 🙂
A friend on FB called this beach a rock tumbler so your comparison is apt, I think. My father used to sell industrial floor surface patching material and once we installed it in a chain factory. They used a rock tumbler with pea stone to polish some of the rougher chain. I am amazed that rather than crack each other to pieces they instead produce nice smooth, albeit slippery, surfaces. Most of Acadia’s shoreline is the blocky granite but this and one other beach have these nice boulders and then there are two other beaches with colorful polished cobbles.
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Those polished cobbles remind me of the rock candy we used to have when I was a kid. It wasn’t that modern stuff that is more crystal-like. Each piece actually looked like granite, or basalt, or whatever.
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Now that you mention that, I remember it also. Like little Easter eggs…or polished granite.
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I love the low perspective, Steve. It works beautifully with this composition. And the rock shapes and patterns are great, along with the warm glow on them and the distant cliffs.
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Thanks, Todd. I really wanted the boulders to dominate so getting low and having them fill the bottom of the frame seemed the way to go. And, of course, as they grow smaller receding into the mid-frame they draw the eye to the cliffs. I will definitely be making a return trip next year.
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Gorgeous, Steve! I love landscapes with strong elements close to the viewer, and you sure brought that to the table! The way you handled the light on those rocks – so very skillful, wow!
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Thank you, Lynn. I admit to making a few exposures to be sure I got one that would work as I envisioned. Pixels are so cheap. 🙂
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Ha! Yeah, I’ll bet those rocks were hard to walk on. I agree with Lynn, you really put us in the scene and I love the touch of sun hitting the rocks. Lovely.
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They were. I have almost healed the cut to my shin where I fell on one of them. Thanks, Melissa.
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Ouch! Every now and then nature reaches out to remind us it can kill us if it wanted, doesn’t it?
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Considering the anniversary just passed…Oh yeah! 🙂
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🙂
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