Photographing Acadia National Park : The Essential Guide to When, Where, and How

Whether you are a beginning or professional photographer, a first-time visitor or returning explorer, Photographing Acadia National Park: The Essential Guide to When, Where, and How is your field companion for making photographs about the dramatic beauty of Maine’s most iconic coastal landscape. This Acadia National Park photography guide is designed to help you find exceptional locations, understand natural light, and create more intentional, compelling images in the field.

Written by author and three-time Acadia artist-in-residence Colleen J. Miniuk, this updated second edition draws on extensive on-location experience to combine practical instruction with location-specific insight. It is designed for photographers who want to move beyond simply visiting Acadia and instead return home with meaningful, well-crafted photographs.

The book helps you understand when to photograph the park for the strongest visual impact, including optimal timing for sunrise, sunset, shifting coastal weather, and seasonal changes that transform familiar scenes into entirely new compositions. It also explains where to go, featuring 50 carefully selected photography locations across Mount Desert Island, the Schoodic Peninsula, and Isle au Haut. Each location includes directions, GPS coordinates, and practical access information to help you spend less time searching and more time photographing.

In addition to location guidance, the book focuses on how to work creatively in the field. A 24-page photography fundamentals section provides practical instruction for building stronger images, while 12 “Making the Photo” stories walk through real-world decision-making in different lighting and landscape conditions. Location-specific tips are included throughout to support both technical and creative growth.

With more than 180 color photographs, this guide serves as both inspiration and a practical reference for photographing Acadia National Park with confidence.

A portion of proceeds (10%) is donated to the Schoodic Education Adventure, a residential youth program in Acadia National Park.

Colleen J. Miniuk is an award-winning author, photographer, speaker, and outdoor educator whose work blends wilderness, personal transformation, and creative exploration. A former corporate professional turned full-time artist, she now focuses her work on helping others see, connect, and photograph the natural world with greater intention and freedom.

Miniuk is a three-time Artist-in-Residence with Acadia National Park, where she developed the field experience that led to her award-winning guidebook, Photographing Acadia National Park: The Essential Guide to When, Where, and How. She is also the author of Wild in Arizona: Photographing Arizona’s Wildflowers, the adventure memoir So Said the River, and the exhibition catalogue The Current Flows.

Colleen’s photography and writing have been featured by National Geographic calendars, Arizona Highways, AAA Via, National Parks Traveler, and other publications.

She leads photography workshops, women’s photography retreats (called “Sheography™”), webinars, and critique sessions for camera clubs, organizations, and private clients across the United States. She also writes the online photography advice column “Dear Bubbles.”

Through books, photography, workshops, women’s retreats, and speaking engagements, Colleen inspires others to pursue creativity, courage, and freedom, both in wild places and within themselves. She resides in Arizona.