Posts in Category: Kennebunkport
there she blows!
Humpback Whales: Off Kennebunk/Kennebunkport, Maine, USA, August 2025 — We went looking for Whales with FirstChance Whale Watching yesterday. A glorious day on the water but we did not find whales until we had already turned back and were almost out of time. Whale watches from Kennebunk/port do not get as far as Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and rely on the few whales that feed closer to shore. We were blessed to find this mother Humpback and her calf within sight of the boat, and were able to turn and approach. Humpbacks do not play with boats as some whales do, but we got to see both mother and calf breach many times as they came up to breathe. I needed another day at least to get my hand in for whale photos, but these are a few of the more memorable. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at various focal lengths for framing. Program mode with my action modifications. Processed in Photomator. In the second photo you can see both mother and calf as the breached together. 🙂
Trout Lily
Trout Lily: Emmon’s Preserve, Kennebunkport, Maine, April 2025 — This early spring flower of the New England woods has many names. Trout lily, Yellow Trout lily, Fawn Lily, Yellow Adder’s-tongue, Dogtooth Violet, or Yellow Dogtooth Violet. Dogtooth Violet is actually a different species, and is, as the name says, purple/violet in color, but many still call this yellow lily by that name. I have always called it Trout Lily. I go looking for them in late March and early April every year. I know a few spots where they grow, in addition to a couple of dense patches at Emmon’s Preserve, a short drive from home. This year I had to make three trips. The second week in April no leaves were showing. The third week I found some leaves, and only now, in the fourth week did I find the flowers. That is late. I shot photos in two different stands at Emmon’s. In one stand the pollen was yellow, and in the second patch the pollen was, as in these photos, orange. I looked it up this morning, and, indeed, there are Trout Lilies with the orange pigment, and there are Trout Lilies without. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 112mm and 114mm equivalent. The closer shot is with the Sigma Achromatic 1.75 diopter Macro attachment. On both I used my Sirui travel tripod at ground level. Processed in Photomator.
Rapid run
Batson River, Emmon’s Preserve, Kennebunkport, Maine, April 2025 — Relatively high water on the Batson River (more of a brook really) in Emmon’s Preserve (Kennebunkport Land Trust). Still no leaves on the trees so this is just about as bright as this stretch of water gets. Sony a5100 with Sony 10-18 f4 at 15mm equivalent. Shutter Preferred at 1/40th. Processed in Photomator.
Eddy art
Emmon’s Preserve, Kennebunkport, Maine, April 2025 —Water heavily laden with tannins from decaying leaves and high spring stream levels work with gravity and fluid dynamics and the April sun to create art in the eddies. Sony a5100. 10-18 f4 zoom at 27mm. Superior Auto. Photomator and LikeAFrame.
Creature in the woods
Porcupine. Emmon’s Preserve, Kennebunkport, Maine, USA — While out looking for the first Trout Lily’s (Adder’s Tongue) of the season (there were none yet) I encountered a creature in the woods. I could not, for any amount of trying, figure out what it was, but I managed a few photos and came home to study them. My first instinct was Porcupine, but the almost total lack of quills had me baffled. There is nothing else it can be though, and I found some other photos on the web showing porcupines in a similar state. Perhaps it had just survived an attack of some sort…or perhaps it was its first venture out of the winter borrow, and it had lost most of its quills rubbing on the rocks all winter. It seemed heathy enough otherwise, and not overly upset at the encounter. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Photomator.
Maine! Yellowthroat youngster
Common Yellowthroat (fledgling): York County, Maine, USA, July 2024 — Walking along the edge of a meadow, this little bird was chattering in the bushes. It is fledgling Common Yellowthroat. You can just see a bit of the gape still there at the back of the beak. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC VXD zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Animal/bird subject recognition and auto focus. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Chance encounter
Ruby-throated Hummingbird: York County, Maine, USA, July 2024 — So I don’t really believe in chance, but I am always surprised to find a hummingbird away from our back-deck feeder…in the wild, so to speak. I forget that hummingbirds got along just fine before humans began to feed them. This female Ruby-throated Hummingbird was harvesting nectar from the jewelweed along a trail I visit on occasion, and it cooperated for a few photos. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC VXD zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my flight and action modifications. Animal/Bird subject detection auto focus. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Late Ladies
When I went out looking for Lupines near Emmon’s Preserve in Kennebunkport/Arundel, I was surprised to find a few late Lady Slipper Orchids blooming along the trail into the Batson River falls. Lovely wherever and whenever you find them. OM System OM-1 with M.Zuiko 12-45 f4 Pro zoom at 48mm equivalent. Program mode with in-camera HDR. Processed in Photomator.
Maine Landscape
Trout Lily (Adder’s Tongue, Yellow Dog Tooth Violet), Emmon’s Preserve, Kennebunkport, Maine, USA. July 2024 — One of the first wildflowers of spring in Southern Maine. OM Systems OM-1 with M.Zuiko 12-45 f4 Pro at 40mm equivalent. Program mode with in-camera HDR. Processed in Photomator.
Maine Landscape
Batson River above the rapids at Emmon’s Preserve, Kennebunkport, Maine, USA, April 2024 — A quiet stretch of the Batson, on a sunny April day. The woods are still open and the sun warms the ground and the water. OM System OM-1 with M.Zuiko 12-45 f4 Pro at 24mm equivalent. Program mode with in-camera HDR. Processed in Photomator.