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The Maine Island Photo Tour

Previously known as the Great Island Photo Tour.
(July 15 -17, 2025)

Monhegan Island, Maine is a great place for a photo tour.

Visit three islands in 3 days, each with their own distinctive community and vibe; Vinalhaven, North Haven, and Monhegan. From a busy fishing harbor and downtown, to a charming village with no cars or paved roads. This multi-day Great Island Photo Tour brings you on a uniquely Maine experience.

Join this photo tour and you will experience the culture and customs of living on an island. Learn about the heritage and traditions, and why islanders love living in these remote locations. There is nothing quite like living on an unbridged island.

Check out this article by Yankee Magazine, “Maine’s Magical Islands”.

DATES: JULY 15, 16, 17
Reservations open Jan. 6, 2025

GROUP SIZE: Limited to 7.

RATES: $675, includes your photo guide, all ferry & charter boat tickets, and a unique Maine experience. Non-photographing companions are welcome at no fee. Cancellation policy is below. 

Crossing Penobscot Bay for Vinalhaven.
Crossing Penobscot Bay during low tide, headed to Vinalhaven.

PHOTO INFO:

Perfect for all photographers & all camera types including iPhones and tablets. You will be met at your skill level with guidance to build on your camera-handling techniques. You will gain an understanding for how to compose your images with a creative eye.

“No detail was overlooked, from sites to see and photograph, to meals, to information about the islands, schooners, birds, walking conditions appropriate to people’s fitness levels, you name it. At every encounter, it was clear Dee wanted, and provided a robust experience for everyone.” – Minda M.

The Maine Island Photo Tour is different from any of my 1-day tours to these islands because you will be on the islands longer and you will get further and see more.

Just the 6 ferry rides alone will offer you stunning seascapes dotted with small islands. Changing tides create different views at different times of day. You might see lobsterman hauling traps, schooners on their multi-night sailing cruises, and seals basking on the rock outcroppings.

Fox Island Thoroughfare, while approaching North Haven, Maine.
Sails of Schooner Stephen Taber entering the Fox Island Thoroughfare heading to North Haven with the Camden Hills in the background. Taken from the ferry on the way to North Haven.
DETAILS:
  • You’ll arrange your own lodging in the vicinity of Rockland. (Book early!) Contact me if you have questions. Find area lodging here…. Penobscot Bay Chamber of Commerce.
  • Two-days you will be on an early ferry and return to the mainland early evening.
  • We’ll find time for image review, critique, and classroom time at my studio.
  • You’ll be crossing Penobscot and Muscongus Bays.
  • 6 ferry crossings.
  • Pass 5 lighthouses from the water and each more than once.
  • In case of inclement weather or unforeseen circumstances, I reserve the right to change the itinerary.

The Maine Island Photo Tour: My Island Trio

Vinalhaven – North Haven – Monhegan

 Vinalhaven

Vinalhaven Maine Photo Tour

We’ll begin with visiting the island with the largest year-round population, a whopping 1200, along with the largest village and working harbor of our 3 islands.

  • Explore at least one of the 23 land preserves.
  • Stroll through the village and learn about its rich granite producing past and see remnants of the former industry.
  • Learn how this small island helped shape the major east coast cities.
  • The residential neighborhoods tell a story all their own with their various architecture styles.
  • Observe how the lobster fishing industry operates from crate to plate.

North Haven

Our mid-size island has a population of 355. It is separated from Vinalhaven by the Fox Island Thoroughfare. It has a very small, quiet, elegant village with galleries, gift shop, yacht club, fine eateries, and a quaint harbor with a rustic boat yard. You will arrive here by ferry mid-afternoon, and hopefully stay for an exceptional dining experience (not included in the price of the tour).

North Haven, Maine Photo Tour

Monhegan

Ten miles from the mainland in Mascungus Bay sits our most enchanted island. Monhegan is the smallest island, being less than a square mile. With a year-round population of 65, it has long been a destination for artists and art lovers. This is a walking island with no paved roads and no cars, only a few pickup trucks to haul fishing gear and supplies from the ferry.

Unlike my 1-day photo tour to this island, we will take the earliest boat to the island so we can explore to the outer edges of this charming village at a leisure pace.

Monhegan Maine image sampler.

Maine Island Fun Facts:

  • My Island Trio are among the 15-remaining year-round, unbridged island communities in Maine, down from 300 at the turn of the 20th century.
  • Maine became a state in 1820, having been part of Massachusetts.
  • On June 25, 1789, the two islands in Penobscot Bay commonly called the North and South Fox Islands, were incorporated into a town by the name of Vinalhaven (named after the Boston attorney, John Vinal, who was employed by the people of the islands to present the petition to the Court of Massachusetts).
  • There are 3000+ islands off the Maine coast.
  • There are 3000+ miles of coastline in Maine.
PHOTO TOUR CANCELLATION POLICY:
  • I will give a complete refund if I need to cancel the tour for any reason.
  • No problem if you need to cancel, just contact me to activate the cancellation and to make sure the refund goes through properly.
  • If you cancel your registration more than 50 days before the start of the event, then your tour fee will be refunded to you, minus a $95 processing fee.
  • Cancel 49- 31 days before the start of the event, and 50% of your tour fee will be refunded.
  • Cancel 30 days or less from the start of the tour, no refund will be offered.
  • I suggest that you consider Trip Cancellation Insurance. (Not provided by CMPT.)