Boats Against the Current

Taking in the scene from the boat launch at Portland's East End Beach:

Back Cove Morning

I have learned over time and through seeing other people's photographs that sunrises and sunsets are made more photogenic by some cloud cover. The morning that I took this photo across Back Cove wasn't particularly cloudy, but the pleasing colors on the horizon seem to work okay even without clouds. 

Coming & Going

Portland is hosting two large cruise ships today, as pictured in this photo taken this morning from the Casco Bay Bridge. I've always wondered what Portland looks like from one of those decks on the top of a ship. 

The Fort Allen Park Gazebo

Here is a view of the iconic gazebo in Fort Allen Park. The entire park will be getting a well-deserved facelift starting on October 1st. Work is expected to be complete next summer in time for the park's bicentennial. You can read all about the project right there on the website of the "Friends of the Eastern Promenade" organization. 

Up On the Roof

A rooftop scene from the municipal parking garage next to the Civic Center:

What led me up there? Other than being a nice spot to take photos, MENSK, Maine's non-profit arts organization, holds free "rooftop film" events up here a few times each summer. This particular evening back in August featured the classic film "Dr. Strangelove." 

Portland Now and Then: Part 2

In case you missed it, part one can be viewed here. These two photos were created by merging historical photos from the Portland Maine History 1786-Present Facebook group with current photos taken by me this past month. 

Looking down Exchange Street from Middle Street

Congress Street in front of Portland City Hall

George Cleeve, Statue

This statue is modeled after one of Portland's founders, George Cleeve, and it stands along the Eastern Waterfront. The statue happens to be standing on land belong to Portland Yacht Services,  a business that is owned by a descendent of Cleeve. As you can read in this article from 2003, this statue caused some controversy back when it was offered to the city in 2002. It was not accepted by the city due to the possibility that Cleeve had owned slaves. So despite not being a piece of public art and being located on private land, when the Portland Yacht Services is open during the day you can stop in for a glimpse of the statue that they found a place for. 

Trail to Ale 2013

Volunteering to take some photos of the Trail to Ale 10K race/walk has become a sort of annual tradition for me. This year's race, which benefits the wonderful Portland Trails organization, was held on Sunday. Although the weather was beautiful in the afternoon, it was rather rainy during the morning hours. Despite the weather, there was a strong turnout as usual and everyone seemed to have a good time. I will soon be adding a few more photos from the event to this page on my photography website. 

The first female finisher.

The first male finisher.

The Empire is Back

The Empire restaurant re-opened earlier this month at 575 Congress Street. While keeping the same name and the music venue upstairs, the menu is now focused on Chinese food (which happens to be what the original Empire restaurant served at his location long ago).  I haven't been inside yet, but I'm a huge fan of their new signage. I really like these vertical marquee signs, and as you can see, it even lights up at night! 

One Saturday Morning

Today's photo was taken early this morning on Moulton Street. It was a foggy morning, which is always good for photos. A benefit of shooting early in the morning is you can often capture the city and it's streets without a lot of parked cars blocking the views. 

A Beautiful Sunset

This beautiful sunset was captured from the top of the Portland Observatory during their last sunset tour  of the season a couple of weeks ago. Regardless of the time of day or the weather, I highly recommend climbing to the top of the tower if you are looking for the best view in town. I'll be posting some more photos from this vantage point at a later time.

Seasons of Portland: Wharf Street

Today's Seasons of Portland installment is from Wharf Street. The winter photo is from back in February and the summer photo was taken last month. This was a fun one to match up!

Better Know a Trail: Stroudwater Trail - Part 2

Today is part two of a series of photos taken along the scenic Stroudwater Trail. When you want to take a break from "the big city" it's nice that there are places like this within the city limits that are quiet and relatively undeveloped. 

Better Know a Trail: Stroudwater Trail - Part 1

Here is part one of some photographs taken while exploring the Stroudwater Trail, part of the extensive and impressive Portland Trails network. This particular trail meanders along the Stroudwater River from the historic Stroudwater Village and into neighboring Westbrook. The trail runs directly behind my place of employment, so it's interesting to observe how relatively undisturbed it is. 

Portlandhenge

Here is an early morning shot of the old railroad trestle on the Eastern Waterfront and the sun rising almost directly behind it. I will have to figure out exactly what day the sun rises directly in between the columns of the bridge. 

Custom House Wharf

Looking down Custom House Wharf from the neighboring Portland Pier. The nice colors on the buildings in the background is from a colorful sunrise. 

Boothby Square, Sunrise

A view of Boothby Square from early this morning. I've been challenging myself to get out for some sunrise photos once or twice a week and I have been happy with the results so far (and it's getting easier since the sun is rising later these days).

Kayaks

A pair of kayaks exploring Casco Bay. You may recognize the jetty of rocks from this photo, taken at a time when the tide was lower. 

The Great Lost Bear

The Great Lost Bear, located at 540 Forest Avenue, has been in business since 1979. Here are two shots from a night earlier this summer:

Seasons of Portland: Congress and Forest

As I was putting together some more "Then & Now" photos, which I will share some day soon, I started to realize that I have a huge personal archive of photos from this blog that I could also try combining with photos taken in the present day. One of the first series of then and now photos from my own archives will focus on the seasons of Portland. To start things off, here is the corner of Congress Street and Forest Avenue from September 2013 and February 2013:

B&M

Today's photo is a view of the B&M baked bean factory from early on Saturday morning. Just out of sight to the left of this photo is Tukey's Bridge. The B&M company dates all the way back to 1867, and has been located at it's current location since 1913. 

Congress & Casco

This photograph of the intersection of Congress and Casco Streets and the surrounding buildings was taken shortly after a sunset last week. The original photo is quite bright, thanks to the ambient streetlights and the lights in the Maine College of Art being on across the street. By slightly desaturating the photo I was able to get this kind of unique color effect.

This Old Fence

An interesting design on a gate of a fence on Spring Street in the West End. The cobwebs seem appropriate for the fast-approaching Halloween holiday at the end of next month.

Nothing But Blue Skies

A view of the central portion of the Portland skyline on a cloudless afternoon (including the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel under construction towards the left side):

Masts

This slightly-abstract photo is from a grey and rainy day last weekend. It was taken while strolling along the Eastern Promenade Trail. I couldn't get closer to photograph any of the ships, but from where I stood the masts of the various sailboats looked kind of interesting.

The Maine Lobsterman

Portland's copy of The Maine Lobsterman Statue sits at the corner of Middle and Temple Streets in the Old Port. As noted in this article from a few years ago, the original statue was made for the 1939 in New York and there three replicas were eventually made: This one in Portland, one on Bailey Island, and one way down in Washington D.C.

Bow View

A boat docked at the State Pier on a recent evening. I think this is the Portland Schooner Company's ship named Bagheera. The lights coming from the pier gave the boat a pleasant orange-ish glow on this particular evening. 

Stately State Street

Even though I see it almost every day, this little stretch of State Street always grabs my attention. The stately looking buildings and the way they lead your eye to the steeple of the church almost always makes me reach for my camera. This particular photo was taken as the sun was beginning to set, which gives a nice warm color to it. 

Coin Operated

The coin operated binoculars at Fort Allen Park earlier today. On a clear day, unlike today. this spot offers a really nice view of the harbor and the boats that are coming and going. 

Grand Trunk Graffiti

A view of the old Grand Trunk steamship offices on India Street. The graffiti on the door is relatively new, and I don't condone such vandalism, but it is what drew me to take the photograph. The building is in rough shape, but there is the possibility that it will be renovated and incorporated into whatever ends up being developed on the surrounding lot (formerly a rail yard) in the future.