Bass Harbor Head Light Station is located in Tremont, Maine, marking the entrance to Bass Harbor and Blue Hill Bay on the southwest corner of Mount Desert Island. Out of the 80 or so lighthouses on Maine's expansive coast, Bass Harbor Head Light is one of only three lighthouses managed under the Acadia National Park umbrella. In season, this is a heavily visited place, the fifth busiest destination in the entire national park. Its position on the red granite cliff is part of its appeal, making it a popular sunset location.
The brick lighthouse tower was built on a stone foundation in 1858, standing on a cliff 56 feet above the high water of the Atlantic Ocean. In addition to the tower, there is also a keeper's house, bell house, oil house, and a barn. Today, the keeper's house is occupied by a member of the Coast Guard and his family, so the grounds are mostly private.
But no other visitors were down on the rocks when I visited in March to shoot Blue Hour at Moonset. I positioned my tripod with a super wide-angle lens low near sea level to include a reflection of the tower in one of the tide pools. The fresnel on this tower is bright red — on for three seconds and off for one. So, the redness emanating from the light inevitably colored the nearby trees and rocks. I took a 20-second exposure to tame the water while stars adorned the upper portion of the sky. With my camera pointed toward the western sky, remnants of color from the setting sun are still visible at the horizon.
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Dimitri Vasileiou • Editor