maine | Beautiful Flower Pictures Blog

Magical Maine

by hankinslawrenceimages | Jun 27, 2014 | Maine, Photo Locations

I’ve had such a wonderful response to the photos I shared from spring trips to Texas and Tennessee that I thought I’d share some of my photos from my trip to the Delaware Water Gap in Pennsylvania and Maine from last month.

I actually spent more time photographing landscapes than flowers on this trip – something about finding lots of peaceful landscapes and not many wildflowers to photograph . . .

We stopped at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Pennsylvania to photograph one of my favorite waterfalls – Factory Falls. We also spent some time photographing at Dingman’s Creek

Once we got to Maine, our first stop was at the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden in Boothbay, Maine. I’d visited there a few years ago – shortly after it opened. Wow have there been wonderful changes in the past few years – I found wonderful wildflowers at the Gardens and the cutest fence in a children’s garden I’ve ever seen.

Pink Lady Slipper Among the Blueberry Bushes © 2014 Patty Hankins

Best Garden Fence Ever! © 2014 Patty Hankins

Our final stop on the trip was at Acadia National Park. I’d hoped to spend several days photographing wildflowers but due to the long winter, not much was blooming. Instead I spent time hiking and photographing along the carriage roads and the rocky shores.

Painted Trillium in the Woods © 2014 Patty Hankins

Bubble Pond Reflections © 2014 Patty Hankins

Azaleas Reflections at Asticou Azalea Gardens © 2014 Patty Hankins

I can’t end this article without sharing a photo of what may be the perfect restaurant for Bill and I to eat at – since he love BBQ and I love Lobster Pounds – the Maine Luau and BBQ Pit – a combination BBQ joint and Lobster Pound outside of Bar Harbor.

Lobster Pound & BBQ Pit © 2014 Patty Hankins

As you can see – we had a wonderful trip, spent time in beautiful places and took some great photographs. I’m already planning my next photo trip – I’m heading to Washington State in August . . .

Magical Maine

by hankinslawrenceimages | Nov 21, 2011 | Maine, Photo Locations

One of the highlights of October for me this year was a week photographing at Acadia National Park in Maine. I was there for a workshop on the Contemplative Landscape taught by George DeWolfe & Lydia Goetze.

Visiting Acadia National Park in the second week of October was amazing. I haven’t seen fall color like this in a very long time – probably since I was in high school. What I quickly realized was that in New England some of leaves of the Sugar Maple trees turn a magnificent shade of red that we just don’t see here in the Mid-Atlantic area. My guess is that I’ll be heading back to Maine for more fall color photography in the coming years.

As wonderful as the scenery and colors were in Acadia – the best part of the trip was the Contemplative Landscape Workshop. During the workshop, I was challenged to think about my photography in ways I’ve never thought about it before. Really starting to consider – what am I trying to say with my photographs? What emotions and feelings am I trying to convey?

In addition to taking us to some incredible places to photograph, the instructors, George DeWolfe and Lydia Goetze, talked about how both Western and Eastern landscape painting traditions can influence how we compose our photographs. We also discussed how practicing mindfulness can help our photography.

It was a fantastic workshop – so good in fact – that I’m seriously considering heading to Death Valley to repeat the workshop in February!

Pearly Everlasting – Anaphalis margaritacea

by hankinslawrenceimages | Nov 25, 2009 | Flowers, Wildflowers

This past summer while Bill and I were exploring Acadia National Park in Maine, I spotted a wildflower I’d never seen before. It had clusters of tightly packed white and yellow flowers. I had no idea what it was. I eventually discovered that it was Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea), a native plant and member of the aster family. Later in the week, I was able to photograph a lovely group of Pearly Everlasting ath the Wild Gardens of Acadia – a great location for learning about the plants and ecosystems at Acadia National Park.

Here are some of my photos of Pearly Everlasting from Acadia National Park.

A view of the entire group of flowers

A little closer in view that gives a great sense of the texture of the unopened flowers.

And finally two side views of the flowers with different depths of field. I’m still trying to decide which of these two photos I like better.

I really enjoyed photographing the Pearly Everlasting at the Wild Gardens of Acadia. Next summer, I’ll definitely look for more Pearly Everlasting, I’d like to photograph some with the flowers fully open.

Nightshade – Solanum dulcamara

by hankinslawrenceimages | Aug 30, 2009 | Flowers, Wildflowers

One of the delicate wildflowers I photographed on our recent trip to Maine was Nightshade (solanum dulcamara). I found the nightshade growing on the rocky shore across from Acadia National Park’s Seawall Campground on route 102A near Bass Harbor.

It was a very harsh, rocky environment. And there was a plant with delicate purple and yellow flowers. Here are a few of my photos of the nightshade flowers.