Four years ago I bought my first DSLR and started frequenting Acadia. As a new photographer, I thought there was no better place in Maine to learn the ins and outs of landscape photography. I would wake up early to catch the sunrise from Boulder Beach and hike a few trails. I would be back home and ready for a nap by the time most people had gotten up. For the first year that was my routine, and I learned a lot about photography and Acadia.
As summer came around again, I was ready to continue where I had left off, however something happened and my view of Acadia was changed forever. I was browsing online when I came across a photo by Moe Chen, Sand Beach Nights, a photo that was awarded Best in Show at the 2013 Maine Photography Show. I remember being blown away at the level of detail in the stars, the blending of the foreground, and the color. The level of awesomeness of this one photograph was off the charts. It was in that moment that I decided I wanted to capture the night sky, I wanted to see what he saw.
One night, shortly after seeing that photo, I packed my gear in the car and took off towards Acadia. I wanted to see the stars for myself and hopefully capture a few photos of my own. My final destination was Boulder Beach and I arrived well into the night. As I pulled into a parking spot and turned off all my lights, I was quickly made aware of something I hadn’t thought of. In my moment of excitement I failed to realize that I would be standing alone on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean on a moonless light, with nothing but the roar of the waves to keep me company. However terrifying it was at that moment, I reminded myself that I did not drive 1.5 hours to simply turn around. I cautiously made my way to Boulder Beach and tried capturing the stars. The photos I captured that night would not be winning any awards any time soon, however they did provide me with the groundwork I needed to continue.
Before that night I had never seen the stars over Acadia. Since I grew up close to the park, all of my trips with my friends and family were day trips. I had witnessed the night sky from my backyard in Hampden, and I thought that it didn’t get much better than that, I was wrong. I had spent 23 years living right next to Acadia and I missed out on one of its greatest gifts.
Since that first night, I have spent quite a bit of time in Acadia and every time I go out, it still amazes me. Night sky photography has quickly become my favorite subject and this past summer it was my sole focus. These are some of the photos taken over the last year.
- Nate Levesque
