Whenever we dive Duck Island at the Isle of Shoals, the seal interactions are always a surprise. Some days they keep a respectful distance and vanish the moment you turn around, while other days you get treated to an up-close show.

Our September 12 dive definitely fell into the second category.

At the end of my Puddles at Sunrise post, I mentioned how I nearly missed out on another amazing photo. This is that photo – a glorious sunrise behind the Nubble Light itself. I was tired and not thinking clearly, and after getting the earlier photo my brain kept telling me “go home, we’re done.” It wasn’t until I saw another photographer shooting in this direction that I realized I could do more.

I love visiting Maine in the summer, especially on the coastline where I can’t get enough of the beaches, lobster rolls, and great scuba diving. One of my favorite spots is the Nubble Light, and I wanted to give it a try for a sunrise photo on a trip I took last summer. But good sunrises are driven by cloud structure, and the sunrise forecast on SunsetWX was consistently unfavorable. Then on one morning things looked a little bit better, so I chanced it.

When I’m not taking photos, I love to scuba dive. It’s a great sport that takes us to amazing places where we often encounter some incredible things underwater. Recently, we took a trip to the Isle of Shoals, which is a small group of islands that span the border of Maine and New Hampshire in the Gulf of Maine. These islands are a summer haven for seals who haul out onto the rocky shores and rest – especially on Duck Island on the northern part of the chain.