Suddenly in early August, the summer turns busy for me.

My son Paul asks me to drive with him from our home in Grand Rapids to Orono, Maine to pick up a new vehicle (see below) to be returned to Michigan. This is a trip of 1000 miles each way through Canada and rural Maine. I agree to accompany him provided that I can enjoy a fresh Maine lobster and spend a few hours in Acadia National Park. Paul shakes on the “deal” and we’re off.

Our drive takes us through eastern Michigan, over the St Clair River Bridge into Canada, past London, Toronto and Montreal where we stop for a late lunch. Then eastward towards the Canada-USA border and finally south to Orono. After sixteen hours in the car, we arrive in Orono and settle down in the hotel for some sleep.

The next morning we are up early and conduct and conclude our vehicle purchase. By noon we point the car towards the resort town of Bar Harbor on the Atlantic Ocean and also the gateway to Acadia. Here’s where the lobster part of the “deal” is satisfied.

picturesque church in rural Quebec close to the Canadian-USA border

 

Acadia is largely situated on a few islands along the rugged Atlantic coastline. Visitors often spend weeks exploring the vastly different environments of the park. But now, I have only a few hours to satisfy my scenic cravings for this gorgeous part of the USA. To move this story along here’s the outcome:

Promise 1: our chef preparing a Maine lobster

Promise 2: a few hours at Acadia National Park

 
I stuff myself with lobster and stuff in a few hours of picture taking on the Atlantic.

Fast forward a few weeks (it’s still the busy month of August) and we’re visiting our daughter and grandkids in Oregon City, but only for a short 2 days. We decide to take a day trip over the coastal mountain range to Seaside and Ft Stevens on the Pacific Ocean. Again I am able to stuff a little more picturetaking into the visit.

the grandkids playing on banks of the Columbia River with Grandma

fishermen hoping for the big salmon catches

huge freighter entering the Columbia River from the Atlantic Ocean

clouds at sunset over the coastal range

 
While the purpose for being on both coasts has nothing to do with photography, I am able to walk away with some fun and interesting shots. As is often the case when traveling, when you’re pressed for time, it is still possible to squeeze in those pictures. Travel is one of my passions, but I also enjoy recalling the pleasures of travel through photos.

 

This is the vehicle that we picked up in Maine – a full service kitchen on wheels. We’re looking forward to some quality food.

Sadly, summer is quickly drawing to an end in our part of the world. We’ve been blessed with unusually hot and sunny weather which means that water sports have been a vital part of the our recent recreational activities.

For the most part, water and cameras don’t mix well. But by taking a few precautions, you can minimize any danger to your camera at the pool or beach when capturing the fun. And if you’re a serious outdoor fanatic, you can make a waterproof camera part of your photo gear.
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Portraits are one the most common type of photographs. We’d like to share some tips for taking better people pictures.

Direction of the Light Shooting people outdoors offers a wide variety of lighting. Observe and take advantage of the direction from which it is falling on your subject.
Here the lighting originates predominantly from behind the subject. This backlighting produces shadows on much of the girl’s face.	For this shot, we turned the subject slightly so that the light is coming from the side. By doing this, we have added a more “rounded” and fuller look to the facial features.

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