The Quiet Beauty of Acadia National Park in Winter

This is what separates the die-hard landscape photographer from the rest of us: It is six below zero. Armed with cameras and a battery of lenses, the 10 participants in a weekend photo workshop in and around Maine’s Acadia National Park are focused not on the bitter cold, but on the way sea smoke rises from the water, or how the waves at Thunder Cove seem to explode against the shore.

They will notice the intricate patterns formed by water trickling over rock, and the exquisitely delicate coating of ice on a small plant. They will seek out snow-covered paths and frozen lakes to walk on, the park’s famous cliffs all around. They will be excited to see fog draping Bass Harbor’s working waterfront as boats vanish into the mist. 

Acadia National Park is considered among the most beautiful in the country. More than 3 million visitors arrive each year to see its iconic views of ocean and lakes meeting boulders and cliffs. But come deep winter, it quiets, the solitude welcomed.

At daybreak, when the photographers catch first light, their breath freezes in an instant. No matter how many layers they wear, the windswept cold reminds them that this still beauty comes at a price. But they already accepted that when they signed up for the “Winter in Acadia” workshop led by Benjamin Williamson and John K. Putnam, notable Maine photographers who have shot here in all seasons and who serve on these annual expeditions as guides, teachers, and fellow image hunters.

“We encourage them to find something unique, not just the iconic images,” Williamson says. “We tell them, ‘Go for whatever catches your eye.’” He adds that he and Putnam always see with new eyes each time they lead a winter weekend in Acadia. And this also remains true: No matter how cold it gets, the hunger for the perfect image burns strong, and the reward for everyone comes when they gather back inside to see what they have found.

To learn more about the “Winter in Acadia” photo workshops, go to jkputnam.com/winter-in-acadia.

Scenes of Acadia National Park in Winter

Mel Allen

Mel Allen is the fifth editor of Yankee Magazine since its beginning in 1935. His first byline in Yankee appeared in 1977 and he joined the staff in 1979 as a senior editor. Eventually he became executive editor and in the summer of 2006 became editor. During his career he has edited and written for every section of the magazine, including home, food, and travel, while his pursuit of long form story telling has always been vital to his mission as well. He has raced a sled dog team, crawled into the dens of black bears, fished with the legendary Ted Williams, profiled astronaut Alan Shephard, and stood beneath a battleship before it was launched. He also once helped author Stephen King round up his pigs for market, but that story is for another day. Mel taught fourth grade in Maine for three years and believes that his education as a writer began when he had to hold the attention of 29 children through months of Maine winters. He learned you had to grab their attention and hold it. After 12 years teaching magazine writing at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, he now teaches in the MFA creative nonfiction program at Bay Path University in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Like all editors, his greatest joy is finding new talent and bringing their work to light.

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