Jesup Path, Acadia National Park. October 22, 2017. Click for a larger version.

If you have been following along for the last few posts, you know what is coming: More photos from Acadia National Park. October 22, a year ago today, was my last morning in the park.

My last stop in Acadia before packing up and heading for home was Jesup Path. It was like I had walked into a childhood book. Any moment I expected fairies or elves or leprechauns to appear and cast spells, bestow wishes, or give me a pot of gold. My photo down the long boardwalk path is my favorite photo for October 22. It was a fitting ending for my time in this wonderful park.

Dawn, Otter Cliff, Acadia National Park. October 22, 2017.

Like most mornings, my day began at Otter Cliff, one of my two favorite morning locations in Acadia (the other being the top of Cadillac Mountain). I was there long before sunrise to catch the first pink hues of early morning light.

Sunrise, Otter Cliff, Acadia National Park. October 22, 2017.

I stayed at Otter Cliff until the sun came up. This is my second place favorite image of the day.

Acadia National Park, October 22, 2017.

Every day the color just kept getting better, with more color around every bend in the road. I was fortunate to have some clouds roll in, enough so I could have some soft light for some small, landscapes. Some autumn leaves are really at their best in the soft light when clouds block the sun.

Acadia National Park. October 22, 2017.

I kept getting out of the car to photograph intimate landscapes in all of their autumn splendor. This is my third place favorite photo for the day.

The Tarn, Acadia National National Park. October 22, 2017.

This is my fourth place favorite image of the day.

Reflection, The Tarn, Acadia National Park. October 22, 2017.

One of my favorite stops was at The Tarn where all kinds of compositions were possible and I used focal lengths from wide angle to capture the larger scene to telephoto to isolate small sections of the larger scene. George Lepp calls this “optical extraction”.

My final stop, as I mentioned at the top of this article, was Jesup Path. From there I made it my motel just in time to check out before they closed for the season. Other motels were closing for the season on the same morning. It was a shame, in a way. The colors were hitting their peak and I thought briefly about staying just one more day. Or maybe two.

But all of the reasonably priced places I checked were closing that morning for the season, or had already closed. That left the expensive resorts in Bar Harbor that were staying open but they were way out of this frugal photographer’s travel budget.

How Long for Acadia?

My total time in Acadia was the first night (after sunset), three full days, and a final morning. That gave me four sunrises, three sunsets, and the time in between. It wasn’t quite enough. One Maine photographer told me he likes to spend a week in Acadia in the fall to do it justice, and two weeks if he has the time. If you love photography and have several days to a week to spend in Acadia, you will not run out of things to photograph. Several days will also give you more opportunities for different kinds of weather. I like to have a mix of sunny, cloudy, and partly cloudy days when I am exploring an area.

Links

Series: Favorite Photos by Date

If you are going to Acadia National Park, this is THE photo guide to get. Photographing Acadia National Park: The Essential Guide to When, Where, and How by Colleen Miniuk-Sperry. This is an award winning five star book.  This book is the winner, of the 2014 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards “Travel Book” category and winner of “Best Travel Guide/Essay,” and “Best Interior Design” in the 2014 International Book Awards. Check out the glowing reviews at Amazon.

Looking for photo guides to other parts of the country? Read: The Best Scenic Photo Location Guides