Creating the Shot: A Journey Through Acadia National Park Astrophotography

Discover the magic of night sky photography in Acadia National Park. Join my journey for tips, techniques, and breathtaking images of the cosmos.

Acadia National Park in Maine is renowned for its rugged beauty and pristine night skies. As an adventure enthusiast and budding astrophotographer, I was drawn to its promise of unparalleled stargazing and photographic opportunities.

Ansel Adams, the world-renowned landscape photographer, famously said, “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” In this blog post, I’ll share my personal adventure of trying to do just that. Join me as I explore Acadia’s dark skies and dive into the techniques and challenges I faced while capturing the night in all its glory. This journey was more than just a photographic endeavor; it was a profound experience that deepened my love for the stars and the art of capturing their beauty. Come along as I recount the magic of those nights and the invaluable lessons I learned along the way.

Two environmental portraits of myself gazing up at the night sky above Acadia National Park.

Arriving at Acadia National Park

First Impressions of the Park:

The journey to Acadia was filled with a mix of excitement and anticipation. After the long drive from my home in New York City, I was undeniably tired but eager to get started. As I finally crossed the park’s boundary, a sense of tranquility washed over me. The air felt cleaner, crisper, and the constant hum of city life was replaced by the gentle rustling of leaves and distant calls of wildlife.

Even though I arrived after dark, the silhouettes of Acadia’s majestic landscapes were immediately captivating. The tall pines stood like silent sentinels against the night sky, and the distant outline of the mountains hinted at the beauty that awaited me in the daylight. I took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh, pine-scented air, and felt a wave of excitement for the adventures to come.

Accommodations:

My trip included two days of travel (to and from) and three full days/nights dedicated to exploring, planning, and photographing. Since I intended to spend most of my time in the field, luxurious accommodations weren’t a priority. The nearby town of Bar Harbor provided everything I needed and more. I stayed at a charming bed and breakfast, which offered the perfect balance of comfort and convenience without an extreme price tag.

I stayed at the Elmhurst Inn: https://www.theelmhurstinn.com/.

Exploring the Park During the Day:

Unfortunately, the weather forecast predicted cloudy and stormy conditions for most of my trip. Clouds are obviously not ideal for photographing the night sky. Luckily, the forecast did show a potential clearing on my last night in the park. While I was certainly hopeful, it was also concerning that I would only have one night to shoot the stars. I decided to use the two days prior to scout locations, plan my shoot, and maximize the compositions I could capture on that final night.

My goal for this shoot was to capture environmental portraits with interesting foreground elements and the brilliant night sky above. Some online research I had done before the trip helped me identify potential locations that I wanted to check out in advance to see if they offered interesting compositions with the night stars above. They were:

Sand Beach
Otter Cliff
Otter Point
Little Hunter’s Beach
Hunter’s Beach
The Bubble (above Jordan Pond)
Beech Mountain Fire Tower

Top Left: Prominent rock formations at Little Hunter’s Beach; Top Right: View of Jordan Pond from the “Bubble” hike; Bottom Left: The Fire Tower atop Beech Mountain; Bottom Right: View of a protruding rock formation at Otter Point.

While scouting each of these locations, I used the PhotoPills app with the Night Augmented Reality feature to determine the best times for capturing my visualized compositions.

In some spots, such as Otter Cliffs and Little Hunter’s Beach, achieving the shot I envisioned required setting up my tripod, stabilizing and securing it, and then moving far into the frame to capture environmental portraits. By scouting these locations in daylight, I could plan precisely where my tripod needed to be and how best to secure it, as I would potentially be stepping far away from it during the shoot. This preparation was crucial for ensuring that everything was in place for my one potential clear night.

The Night Sky in Acadia

When photographing the stars and night sky, the most crucial requirement is a sufficiently dark location to capture the stars. Most inner cities have far too much light pollution to see the stars clearly. The quality of a night sky’s darkness is measured by the Bortle scale, which rates light pollution on a scale from 1 to 9—the lower the rating, the darker the sky. Acadia National Park is rated as a Bortle 2, which is quite impressive for the densely populated northeastern USA. This makes Acadia an ideal location for stargazing and astrophotography.

Acadia National Park’s peak visitor season is usually June through September. Similarly, April to September is generally considered the best time to capture the Milky Way galactic core in the Northern Hemisphere, with the summer months (June, July, and August) being ideal. However, I visited in November, well past those optimal times. While the park was essentially empty of other visitors, the chance to capture the Milky Way galactic core was over for the year. Fall foliage had long disappeared, and winter snow had not yet arrived. Despite this, there was still potential for great astrophotography.

What I did have going for me was the timing of my visit during a new moon, meaning the stars would shine without competition from moonlight. And while I couldn’t capture the Milky Way galactic core, other parts of the Milky Way galaxy were still vividly visible in the night sky, circling overhead. This allowed me to make the most of Acadia’s dark skies and capture the beauty of the stars.

Capturing the Shots

Setting Up the Shot:

On the final night of my trip, the clouds did eventually clear as I had hoped. So I set out to capture the stars, and had chosen my 3 locations to be:

Otter Point
Little Hunter’s Beach
Otter Cliff

Some of the other locations would have required hiking in/out during the night, and while I don’t necessarily mind doing that, it would have cost me valuable time. So I opted for locations I could drive up and walk a short distance to instead.

Otter Point

The coastline at Otter Point is adorned with jagged, sharp, and angular rocks, each with its own prominent features and details. Many of the sharp edges I saw created natural leading lines, guiding the eye across the landscape. During my scouting missions, I found a compelling composition overlooking Otter Cove to the west. Occasionally, a passing car from Blackwoods Campground on Lake Loop Road would momentarily brighten the scene, but these instances were rare given the park’s emptiness. Despite these minor interruptions, I managed to capture this final image:

Emersed in the brilliance of a sea of stars above Otter Point in Acadia National Park (shot at 24mm, F1.4 for 20s at 3200 ISO)

Little Hunter’s Beach

This beach is characterized by the smooth, rounded boulders making up its shoreline which were undoubtedly shaped by centuries of relentless ocean currents. During my location scouting, I noticed at the edges of the beach there were prominent cliffs overlooking the ocean, with views extending out over the ocean all the way to the faraway Baker Island Lighthouse. After some further exploration on foot, I discovered a safe pathway leading to the cliffs, providing an ideal vantage point for my shot. This is the final image I captured from this stunning location:

The winter Milky Way above Little Hunter’s Beach in Acadia National Park (shot at 24mm, F1.4 for 20s at 3200 ISO)

Otter Cliff

Finding this location was the primary motivation for my trip to Acadia. I had seen an image from another photographer that truly inspired me to visit and create my own version of a similar composition. When I saw the cliff, I knew this was the spot I had been seeking. However, positioning the camera relative to where I wanted to stand was tricky. The tripod had to be set much lower than my intended position to make the subject (myself, in this case) appear more prominent in the photo. Similarly, the tripod and camera had to be perched at the edge of their own small cliff, making me nervous about the potential for them to fall into the ocean while I was posing.

To secure my equipment, I weighed the tripod down with my bag and tethered it with multiple paracords to a nearby tree. This setup gave me the confidence to walk away from the camera and hike up the cliff to pose in the right spot. Scouting the cliff during daylight was crucial, as it allowed me to identify safe areas to stand without being dangerously close to the edge. This is the image I was able to create:

Gazing at the ocean of stars above Otter Cliff in Acadia National Park (shot at 24mm, F1.4 for 20s at 3200 ISO + foreground shot at 24mm, F4 250s at 1600 ISO)

Recommended Astrophotography Gear

Some of the gear I used to capture the astrophotography featured on this page:

The links above are affiliate links with Shop Moment, which help to support this free blog content through a small sales commission. Thank you for your support!

The Moment of Capturing a Phenomenal Image:

There is something uniquely fulfilling about bringing to life the images you’ve envisioned and dreamt about. All the research, planning, scouting, and countless hours invested culminate in that moment of excitement and adrenaline when you venture out to shoot at night. The courage it takes to hike to your chosen location in the darkness, and the satisfaction of walking away with the images you imagined and are proud of, is truly exhilarating. This addictive feeling is what keeps me coming back to photography, especially astrophotography. There is just nothing quite like it. Getting the shot.

In many ways, these images transformed the trajectory of my career, and by extension, my life. They gave me the confidence to go out and not just capture photos, but to infuse my own expression into my creations. It reinforced the belief that any creative idea I have for a photo or project is possible. With the right planning, research, and execution, the images one envisions can indeed be brought to life.

The clearness of the night sky above Acadia National Park allows for the winter Milky Way shine through.

Thank you for joining me on this journey through Acadia National Park and my exploration of astrophotography. If you enjoyed this post, please share your thoughts in the comments below. I’d love to hear about your experiences or any questions you have about night sky photography. Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and Youtube for more photography tips, behind-the-scenes content, and updates on my latest adventures. Your support helps me continue sharing my passion for photography with the world! 🌌✨