Cape Cod : 09/30-10/07, 2024

I recently returned from a week’s long holiday spent in beautiful Cape Cod.

I, as per my usual, planned diligently a photo op itinerary to cover as much territory in a logical manner.

I hoped to capture the various beaches at both, sunrise and sunset, as well as boardwalks (seen here), light houses, marinas, harbors and anything else that might catch my eye. All told, I traveled over 1,100 miles by SUV to accomplished my task!

DAILY AGENDA: AM-Shoot blue hour/sunrise/golden hour. Eat/hang in whatever town we’re at. Head back to base: eat dinner. PM-shoot golden hour/sunset/ blue hour/ astro photography*
After settling in at home base in Yarmouth Port (a former student rents out her cape cod home there), enjoying my first (of many) delicious seafood dinners, I headed out just a few miles to begin my newest photographic excursion.

This capture was shot the first day/evening at Bass Hole/ Gray’s Beach in Yarmouth Port, Cape Cod. It was created during the golden hour before the clouds disappeared and the people appeared.

I was intrigued by the light/shadow interplay that gave the railing a sense of distorted movement, and of course, the golden light made the grasses of the marsh glow in the beautiful light of the PM magic hour.

This first session was a wonderful way to kick things off for the remainder of the week. So many visual variations were waiting for me on each day.

The first full day found my photographer buddy and I at the “Head Of The Meadow Beach” & “Coast Guard Beach”. Both are located within the Cape Cod National Seashore.

Originally, I had planned on going to Marconi Beach to start off the day, but I found out that the recently built (spring of 2024) staircase collapsed due to a recent storm, and the beach was closed off for safety reasons.

So, we set sail to the aforementioned HOTMB instead to capture the dawn light. When we arrived, it appeared that a storm was brewing off shore, and we were not sure if we were going to be able to photograph anything at all!

Fortunately, Sky Mother kept her troops at bay off to sea, and created pockets of clear sky just enough to produce sky drama and wonderful blue hour light. We gladly accepted her lovely gift, and came away with more than a few keepers.

After HOTMB, we quickly made our way to Coast Guard Beach while the light was still good and came away with a couple of acceptable images that incorporated interesting compositional elements, like the fence seen here. The sky was still brewing above, and that added so much more interest to the overall composition. Before we headed out, we shot an old coast guard building, that image is yet to be post processed and shared.

As per the usual agenda, after the morning shoot, we eat breakfast, returned to home base to chill, had dinner and headed out to the PM location.

While heading back to base to eat, we came across roadside signage for the “Highland Light/North Truro” aka “Cape Cod Light”, and decided to check it out. So glad that we did, as the historical significance was interesting, and the light was well worth photographing.

On the itinerary was to photograph a little known area, that was called; “Little Island”. It is a small peninsula that had rocks of various shapes and sizes just off shore.

However, upon arriving there, we noticed a sign that stated, “Private Property, Video Surveillance “ etc, etc…Not one to push my luck in these situations, I thought it best to find another area from which to shoot from that was nearby.

After a minute or so, we came across a nice elderly couple taking a stroll to ask where there might be another desirable location to shoot from, (after explaining the situation). Although they said that we would be okay to park where we just were, I still did not want to take the chance.

So, they told us about a local marina, beach and a marshy area that would be quite interesting to shoot that was just a short drive to get to.

Upon our arrival to these three areas, we were quite thrilled with what we saw, that couple did not exaggerate any one of those locations!

We first photographed the beach are as the magic hour was absolutely breath taking, then captured the various scenes at the marina and the small marsh before packing up and heading back to Yarmouth Port.

It was a worthy day of excellent captures!

The third full day of my Cape Cod itinerary found my fellow photographer/friend and I exploring the terrain in and around Hardings Beach, with the Stage Harbor Lighthouse as the main objective.

However, by the time we arrived (well before sunrise) and barely seeing the lighthouse in our line of sight, we decided to chill and photograph what was below our feet. That mostly being, beach, dunes and grasslands.

After setting up, I set my attention to this lifeguard stand as it stood in isolation against the beautiful pastel color and soft light behind, above and around it.

I felt at that time (and even more so now), that the simplicity of the composition would be worthy of sharing and offering for purchasing considerations!

I could not had been any more satisfied with starting off that morning with this photograph!

The fourth morning found me and my fellow photographer/friend photographing in Wellfleet, capturing the beautiful light at dawn as it bathe the marina below.

Staying where we were (Yarmouth Port) was such a central area on Cape Cod that it was an easy ride to get to wherever we were off to, and, I must admit, that I was quite proud of myself for imputing accurately into my GPS every single destination I planned on photographing! 😉

It was so serene at the marina that morning, with a lovely sky above gleefully absorbing the colors of dawn.

Only a few workers and fishermen were at the pier as we shot away the quickly changing light and color.

Each capture offered a completely different palette, with this image being the first one out of the box; what a great way to start off the day!

After photographing to our satisfaction, we headed off to Marconi Beach for some more captures (to be shared soon), and then a robust breakfast in town.

Day Five found my shooting buddy and I at Rock Harbor.

When researching for my excursion to Cape Cod, I came across the “Clam Trees” Of Rock Harbor.

These “clam trees” are used for navigation for boats returning to the harbor. I couldn’t wait to take my turn to document such interesting subject matter, but before I did, my photo buddy and I turned our attention to the marina first as we waited on the sun to set.

This lobster boat was one of three that I isolated (I also took a wide-angle shot of the marina) during the golden hour.

The soft, warm golden light of the sun embraced the marina like only old friends could. I happily accepted this visual treat and believe that I created an original spin on a classic Cape Cod scene.

Original slated for my last morning spent in Cape Cod, I changed my plans to photograph the Sandwich Boardwalk the day before I headed home. This decision was made due to a losy weather forecast (rain), and my exhaustion (early rises all week). I had a five hour+ drive ahead, so the change was made, and I am so glad that I did!

The Sandwich Boardwalk is a 1,350 ft long wooden boardwalk that spans across a creek and marsh ending at Town Neck Beach in Sandwich. Originally built in 1875 it has been rebuilt numerous times due to damage from various storms. Seen here, is the latest reconstruction.

In researching this area, I also became aware that Sandwich is the oldest town on Cape Cod. The town motto is Post tot Naufracia Portus, “after so many shipwrecks, a haven”.

In closing, I could not have asked for a better week of photographing! I was able to document so many facets of Cape Cod life. Researching ahead of time, and mapping out an itinerary is priceless, and has yet to disappoint me!