Portland Head Light is the oldest lighthouse in Maine, commissioned by President George Washington in 1791. It is also the most popular, receiving a million visitors a year. As such, it is also thought to be the most photographed lighthouse each year and the most photographed lighthouse, ever.

We spent three nights in Portland, and one day was a complete rainstorm from the remnants of tropical storm Rachel. That notwithstanding we still got a few cracks at the lighthouse.

The first morning was after the rain storm had moved on. Everything was wet. The rain had stopped, but the low clouds stuck around for sunrise.

Our second go at it was sunset with about 50% cloud cover. We got a nasty surprise as we drove up at 5:15 PM. The park was closing at 5:55 PM at sunset and then they would lock the gates. We had a hurried 20 minutes of shooting and left before we were kicked out. Of course, as we drove away toward our hotel, the post-sunset pinkies appeared in the sky.

Our final attempt was sunrise the next morning which was very clear, very windy, and very cold.

There are three huge parking lots near the lighthouse for the Fort Williams Park. Fort Williams was established in 1776, was decommissioned as a military base in 1964, and became a public park in 1979.

There is a fairly flat, well paved trail along the cliffs on either side of the lighthouse. There are 1-3 obvious photograph locations on the North and South sides. Most tourists gravitate to the South side as it is closest to the lighthouse and the parking lots. The North side is a bit more peaceful, but it seems to be always busy here anyway.

On our first sunrise, we only had about 20 people milling about. At sunset, I would say more like a couple hundred people. Our last sunrise, there were a dozen or so. Plan accordingly.

On the way back to Portland, check out the short, but picturesque Spring Point Ledge Light.