It was a bit chilly and a little windy at 5:30 a.m. at Pier 8 in Boothbay Harbor where photographers congregated for the second annual photography lighthouse cruise on the Balmy Days on Saturday, Sept. 2. Captain Bill Campbell provided expert commentary about the lighthouses and the region in general as he maneuvered the vessel into perfect positions for photographers aboard to make their best shots of the area local lighthouses. One person came from Texas to join the cruise -- and others from New Jersey -- all wanting to bring home postcard quality shots of the area lights.

Unlike a typical harbor cruise, a photography cruise spends a bit more time at each location lining up for the best sight angles. Mike Leonard, the host photographer and instigator of this event, and host of the now annual Windjammer Days photo cruise, was aboard to help everyone to make their best shot by explaining some simple camera settings and making sure everyone had what they needed to make their best shots. Everyone on board the cruise got gift cards to Nations Photo Lab worth $25 to put toward making their own fine art prints that they made. Leonard typically brings along extra memory cards, batteries and even a spare camera should someone forget or have an issue with their own camera. It’s just the extra level of service you should expect on a photo cruise, he says.

For the second year attendees to this photo cruise came away with their best shots of the local region lighthouses and plans are already being discussed for the third annual lighthouse photography cruise.

Leonard’s next venture is a Penobscot photo cruise out of Bar Harbor on Sept. 16 and another lighthouse/foliage photography cruise also out of Bar Harbor is scheduled for Oct. 14. Some tickets are still available for those at this time but both are expected to fill up. Links to those and other photo happenings Leonard is offering can be found at his new website www.phototourismbymike.com