Portland, ME

What an amazing, amazing trip. When trying to figure out a location for an annual company team meetup, I got the idea in my head to suggest somewhere in Maine - I started doing some research and thought that Portland was a great mix of coastal town and "big city" enough for our group to get the best of both worlds, and I turned out to be right.

I had learned a lot about what I wanted out of my photography from my trip to Chicago just a few weeks before, so I went in with a fresh set of eyes and the experience served me very well. I love getting to spend a day or two getting my bearings for how a new location feels, and the fact that we walked everywhere really helped me hone in on the general vibe of Portland, one that I fell in love with and would love to revisit someday with my partner.

On our second day there we did a fantastic excursion with Portland Discover Tours around Portland Harbor and Casco Bay (highly, highly recommended!) so I was able to get some great pictures of the wildlife that would have otherwise been out of view (though I do have an odd fascination with city birds like pigeons). Getting to photograph around the boat itself and seeing more birds such as the Long-tailed Duck to add to my life list was a great way to spend a few hours.