MAINE PHOTO WORKSHOP: Puffins, Seascapes, Landscapes, Lighthouses and More
TOUR FOCUS
PHOTOGRAPHY
SCHEDULED TOURS
TRIP LEADERS
TOUR COST
From: $3,125 (See details)
Cost is per person, double occupancy from Lubec, Maine (BGR)
GROUP SIZE
6-8 Participants
AVAILABILITY
2024: 7 SPACES AVAILABLE
PRIVATE TOUR OPTION
This tour is available as a private trip for any size group. The tour cost will vary with the number of people and any custom requests.
TESTIMONIALS
Highlights of MAINE PHOTO WORKSHOP: Puffins, Seascapes, Landscapes, Lighthouses and More
Description of MAINE PHOTO WORKSHOP: Puffins, Seascapes, Landscapes, Lighthouses and More
Join us for an unforgettable photography adventure along the Bold Coast of Maine! Immerse yourself in the quintessential beauty of Maine as we capture stunning seascapes, landscapes, and the charming West Quoddy Head Lighthouse. But that’s just the beginning!
Prepare to be enchanted by adorable puffins, those football-shaped wonders with their colorful, mini-toucan beaks. Our journey takes us to Machias Seal Island, home to the largest puffin colony on the Maine Coast. Here, amidst breathtaking natural scenery, migratory seabirds including Atlantic puffins, Razorbills, Common murres, and Arctic terns grace us with their presence, offering ample opportunities for captivating photographs.
One of the highlights of our trip is a day spent on a boat ride, where we’ll get up close and personal with puffins and other fascinating avian species. Feel the thrill as you capture these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat, against the backdrop of the rugged Maine coastline. But our adventure doesn’t is more than that boat ride. The rest of our time will be spent wandering through quaint seafaring towns, discovering hidden gems, exploring picturesque beaches, and admiring historic lighthouses. Throughout our journey, you’ll receive invaluable insight and advice from Lisa and Tom, two OM System Ambassadors.
Regardless of what camera system you are using, our experts are here to help you enhance your photography skills and unleash your creative potential. Come and experience quintessential Maine including puffins, seascapes, landscapes, creative images, ICM, pareidolia, did we say puffins, and other birds. If you want to photograph puffins this is a trip for you. You will hear the pitter-patter of cute little puffin feet right above you! No super long lens is needed! as you will photograph them with an average zoom lenses (12-100mm, 70-200mm, 40-150, 100-400, etc.). Don’t miss this opportunity to embark on a photography workshop like no other, where every moment promises to be a masterpiece in the making. Join us on the Bold Coast of Maine and let your creativity soar!
Length of Tour
5-Days/4-Nights
Brief Itinerary
Day 1 – Arrive in Machias, Maine check into your hotel. Dinner time and location TBD for meet and greet.
Day 2 Create a plethora of Quintessential Maine photographs
Day 3 Depart from Cutler Harbor 7am for Machias Seal Island.
Day 4 Create more Quintessential Maine photographs
Day 5 Photograph sunrise and other subjects.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1- Arrive in Machias Maine and check into your hotel. We will meet this evening for dinner and a meet and greet for 6pm. During dinner we will discuss the trip to the puffins, how to photograph them, etc. Get to know one another.
Day 2 – Breakfast, lunch and dinner time TBD. Photograph opportunities as they arise. Review camera settings. We will get up early for sunrise.
Day 3- Weather permitting, depart from Cutler Harbor 7am and arrive at Machias Seal Island about one hour later.
Machias Seal Island is the only place accessible from the USA where the public can photograph Atlantic puffins from land, and Bold Coast Charter Co. is the only USA tour authorized to make landings on the island. Long lenses are NOT required. We have tickets for a boat ride to see and photograph puffins, razorbills, seals, a lighthouse, etc. As long as the weather cooperates, we will also have the opportunity to make a landing on the island and photograph puffins and razorbills up close from a blind. The island has many birds! Some of the puffins and razorbills are just a few feet away. Note that this is the only location in the United States where we can step foot on an island inhabited by puffins, this is very different from other boat tours that are unable to do so. However, please keep in mind that this trip and the landing is subject to weather conditions. We will have photographic opportunities on the way to and from the island, we will spend ~ 2hrs on the island (about 1 hour in the blind). Approximate numbers of nesting seabird species are as follows: 5000 Atlantic puffins, 4000 Razorbills, 800 Common murres, 800 Arctic terns, 200 Common Eiders. In addition to the puffins and other nesting migratory seabird species, the tour will provide an opportunity to view seals, usually both Common seals and Grey seals, Bald eagles, porpoises, dolphins and pelagic seabird species.
Upon return to Cutler harbor, we will eat lunch and return to our rooms to recharge before we meet for dinner.
Day 4 – Photographic opportunities as they exist.
Day 5 – Get up early for sunrise photo walk. Workshop ends 10am.
Cost
Cost is $3,125 per person, based upon double occupancy, from Lubec, Maine (Airport code BGR.
This trip ends in same as arrival city (Airport code ).
NOTE: ALL ROOMS HAVE ONE KING BED. IF SHARING A ROOM, A $200 DISCOUNT PER PERSON WILL BE APPLIED.
Single Supplement
If a single hotel room is preferred, or we are unable to find a suitable roommate for you, a single supplement fee of $0 will be assessed.
NOTE: For boat-based tours, see pricing options for single cabins. Single cabin cost includes the single hotel cost above.
Minimum Number
If fewer than the minimum number of required participants are registered, we may still be able to run the trip by adding a small-group supplement fee, per person, determined by the number of participants registered.
Deposit Requirements
A $500 deposit per person is required to hold each space on this tour. Deposit may be made online by clicking the "Book Your Trip Now" button and using any credit card. If you prefer, you may call us at 888-875-9453 to pay by phone. You may also mail us a check, however, remember that all space is held on a first come-first served basis as deposits are received.
How to Book
In order to hold your space, click the "Book Your Trip Now" button above and complete the deposit process, including payment of the deposit through our Paypal portal using ANY CREDIT CARD. Upon completion of deposit, please visit our secure, online CLIENT INFORMATION FORM to complete your registration.
Final Payment
For all land-based tours: full payment by check is due 120 days prior to the departure date.
For all boat-based adventure cruises of 7-days or longer: full payment by check is required 180 days prior to departure.
NOTE: If you prefer to use credit card for final payment, a 3% fee may be added to cover the credit card merchant fees we incur.
This trip includes small-town motel rooms.
We will call the Sunrise Coast of Maine home for this excursion. Tucked into the far northeast corner of Maine is the fishing village of Lubec. Once a thriving fishing community, Lubec is now a quiet coastal town surrounded by the remnants of their fishing legacy and the rugged, sprawling Bold Coast. Lubec features West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, rustic fishing harbors, and many photographic opportunities along the coast. Machias means “bad little falls” in the Passamaquoddy language means, after the beautiful and rugged waterfalls located on the Machias River in the center of the community. “Of balsam & blueberries, lobsters & lighthouses, puffins & whale watching, sunsets over the bay…More than the just the sights, smells, and sounds…Machias, It’s a feeling.” It’s called the Sunrise Coast of Maine because the sun’s rays first touch the United States here each morning along Maine’s “Bold Coast”.
Activity Level Rating: 2 (Note: 1 is easy and 5 is difficult)
General workshop rating is 1.
Puffin rating is 2.
Participants should be in good health and self-sufficient enough to carry their own gear. Participants should also be able to climb in and out of boats in sometimes slippery conditions carrying photo gear. They should also be comfortable with boats and changing sea conditions. The trip to photograph Atlantic Puffins will involve traveling 10 miles out into the Gulf of Maine aboard a 40-foot boat. It is about a 45-minute ride each way.
Getting onto the island from the boat can be an adventure all in itself, from Bold Coast Charter Co: Island landings involve participants transferring from the tour vessel into a large outboard-powered skiff which is navigated to a designated landing area on the rocky shoreline. Depending on the sea conditions, there is a possibility of wet feet, although most days we manage to keep everyone completely dry. While assistance is provided at every stage of the landing, conditions are slippery, and a degree of physical mobility and surefootedness is required.
- Wide angle lens, medium telephoto(40-150mm OM, 70-200mm Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc.), telephoto (100-400mm) ( 200-500mm- optional)
- Bear in mind multiple participants will be in a blind.Too much gear could make it difficult to move around. We recommend bringing no more than two cameras bodies each with a lens attached into the blind. Too tight for a tripod, you can easily handhold or rest the lens on the bottom of the blind window.
- All your batteries and SD/Compact flash cards
- Filters (optional, bring them if you have them:
- polarizer
- ND (neutral density) for landscape photo opportunities.
- Tripod and/or monopod. Handholding is best when in the blind. There will be opportunities for landscapes/seascapes prior to and after the puffin excursion and a tripod allows for long exposures
- Optional: Laptop, binocular
Pack for change of weather. Its Maine! Raincoat, hat, pants, shoes, etc. Bug spray, sunscreen, etc. Bring a Windbreaker and pullover to keep warm on the boat ride.
Purchasing Flights
Do not purchase your flights until the trip has been confirmed to go.
Detailed Trip Information
Upon notification that final payment is due (120 days prior to departure for land based tours / 180 days for boat based tours), you will receive a trip package of detailed information for your tour.
Any additional information about the trip, including lodgings, contacts, participants, meeting locations, etc., will sent about 2 weeks prior to the trip departure, or after final payment is received for late registrants.
Travel Insurance
As with all tours, we recommend purchasing Travel Insurance to help cover your investment, for covered reasons. Please see our section on Travel Insurance.
Passport & Visa
US Citizens may require a visa to enter certain foreign countries. See above for any required visa information.
Participants arriving to the USA from a foreign country may need to get a travel visa to enter the United States. Be sure to check the requirements for your country of origin.
Itinerary Changes
The trip itinerary is developed many months ahead of time. Occasionally, despite our best planning, changes may occur during the trip, or we may be forced to alter our plans. Changes may occur because of weather, road conditions, safety concerns or other circumstances. In these situations, it is the leader(s) responsibility to carefully consider and implement appropriate alternatives. Any additional costs incurred because of changes will be the responsibility of each individual participant. Refunds will not be issued as a result of itinerary changes.
