Cadillac Mountain - September View
September is a great month for capturing peaceful landscapes in Acadia National Park. There are less crowds and less atmospheric haze. The panoramic image shown here was captured just before sunset on September 21 while on the northeastern side of Cadillac Mountain in Bar Harbor. The direction of view is to the north northwest. You can easily see the section of water called Mt. Desert Narrows that separates Mount Desert Island from the mainland. The island is very large at about 108 square miles.
Maine is at the far northeastern part of the United States. At the beginning of September, the sun rises in Bar Harbor at 5:55 AM and sets at 7:09 AM. By the end of the month, the sun rises at 6:29 AM and sets at 6:15 PM. The times differ slightly if you are on top of Cadillac Mountain because of the elevation. Although you may be able to access this information via your cell phone while on the summit, you may not be able to elsewhere on the island as there are few cell towers. It may be wise to print the times out before your trip.
How to get there
This map shows a section of Mount Desert Island with Bar Harbor at the upper right section. Cadillac Mountain is directly to the south. There are two ways to get there by automobile. Both are via the Park Loop Road. Routes 233 and 3 intersect and provide entrance to the Park Loop Road on the northern side in Bar Harbor. There is also a entrance point on the southern side of the mountain in Seal Harbor which also goes by the Jordan Pond House and Bubble Pond before arriving at the beginning of the Summit Road. For those rugged individuals with lots of stamina, there are also some hiking trails that will take you there and back. Be sure to check the weather out before starting the journey.
Summit Road GPS: Latitude 44.368891; Longitude -68.238506
Early or Late - Color Temperature
Generally speaking, the best times to photograph Acadia landscapes are very early in the morning and late in the afternoon. There are several reasons why this is. One has to do with the colors, or color temperature. They tend to be warmer at those times. During mid-day, colors shift towards the blue. Having a camera set to auto is not always the best way early or late in the day because it will eliminate much of the warmth that we find so attractive. Try setting the color balance to daylight or even cloudy and see what happens. Professionals always shoot using the RAW file setting.