Capturing the Cape: The region’s photographers share their favorite places and times to shoot.

SANCHEZ SAUNDERS @sanchez_saunders

Where are your favorite places to take photos?

Nantucket. The beautiful beaches and landscapes are endless.

What is your preferred camera?

Canon 5DSR for my landscape. I also use a Canon 5D III and a Canon 7D II. My workhorse lens is my Canon 24-105 II F4 but my favorite lens is my Canon 70-200 II F 2.8.

What’s been the most exciting moment you’ve experienced while shooting?

One morning I went to Madaket for a sunrise shoot. The water was calm with a few boats docked. I always survey the scene and create multiple images in my head before even reaching for my camera. That is when I saw two sailboats moving gracefully on the calm water. I immediately grabbed my camera and tripod because the sun was about too grace us with its warm and beautiful light. I shot about 30 images as the light changed and as the boats changed position. My photograph “New Beginning” is from this day.

MARCY FORD @howiseetheworld

Where are your favorite places to take photos?

All the town conservation lands, the Audubon Sanctuaries, Fort Hill in Eastham, Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge and the National Seashore.

What is your preferred camera?

Canon 7DMarkII, 100-400mm lens for wildlife

What’s been the most exciting moment you’ve experienced while shooting?

I was walking a trail and I saw a Snowy Owl sleeping in the top of a pitch pine and I sat down under a cedar tree nearby and watched it just sleep for at least an hour. When it finally awoke it gave the biggest yawn that I was able to capture.

KATHERINE MARR @kmmarr_

Where are your favorite places to take photos?

I love shooting in Chatham: The charming town center, the Hydrangea Festival, Chatham Fish Pier and Lighthouse Beach, there’s so much “Cape-y” content.

Preferred camera / lenses to shoot with?

Canon Mirror EOS R / full frame camera and Canon 24-70mm f2.8 zoom lens.

What’s been the most exciting moment you’ve experienced while shooting?

This past summer, while shooting Brant Point aboard the Nantucket ferry coming into port, a classic sailboat came gliding behind the lighthouse into frame. I couldn’t click fast enough.

TOM RILEY @tomriley

Where are your favorite places to take photos?

Chatham is the town I call home and it is my favorite place to take photos. There is so much beauty all over the town.

Preferred camera / lenses to shoot with?

Canon EOS Rebel T8i DSLR with the standard 18-55mm lens. I love using my DJI Mavic Mini drone.

Any photography tips and tricks for our readers?

Utilize apps and websites. For capturing sunrises/sunsets, I use the PhotoPills app which provides me with specific time ranges and locations for the sun. For drone safety, I use the B4UFLY app to understand rules and regulations. For finding photo spots, I use Instagram and Google Maps, and also a website I am building called Whereaboutss.com.

BETTY WILEY @bettywileyphoto

Where are your favorite places to take photos?

Grey’s Beach Boardwalk in Yarmouth Port, Salt Pond in Eastham, Stony Brook Grist Mill in Brewster, Stage Harbor Light in Chatham and Nauset Beach in Orleans. One of my favorite times to head out are at sunrise or sunset or right after a storm when the light is dramatic and the skies are the most interesting.

What is your preferred camera?

I currently shoot with Canon’s mirrorless cameras. By far, my favorite lens when there is a dramatic sky and gorgeous clouds, is my Canon RF 15-35mm, F2.8 lens.

Any photography tips and tricks for our readers?

Most importantly, learn how to operate your camera and research your locations. I use multiple weather apps which help me predict the best conditions for shooting…but there are no guarantees. I often return to a particular location many times in order to get the shot that I want.

KATIE BARTOW @simplymekb

Where are your favorite places to take photos?

Nauset Beach, Sesuit Harbor, Chatham, Nantucket, and Breakwater Beach to name a few!

What is your preferred camera?

I just switched to a Canon EOS R6, the mirrorless was calling my name! I love my 24-105mm lens, it’s heavy but so versatile.

What’s been the most exciting moment you’ve experienced while shooting?

Probably finding a snowy owl completely by accident while walking at the beach in the winter. The owl was just sunbathing on a piece of driftwood and luckily I had my camera to snap some photos of it from a safe distance away!

DENNIS WEEKS @dennisjweeks

Where are your favorite places to take photos?

Coast Guard Beach in Eastham and Nauset Beach in Orleans.

What is your preferred camera?

My favorite camera is a Nikon D7500. I do many landscape photos and like using a Nikon 10-20mm wide angle zoom.

What’s been the most exciting moment you’ve experienced while shooting?

Shortly after moving to Cape Cod, I was exploring my neighborhood near the Bourne Bridge, when a large cruise ship appeared. It was perfect timing as the sun was setting in the background as the ship passed under the bridge.

@madaketlady

Where are your favorite places to take photos?

Madaket beach on Nantucket. Many of the paths around the island in all seasons: Squam Swamp, Sanford Farm and the Shrubland Bluff Walk.

What is your preferred camera?

I actually shoot everything on my iPhone in Portrait Mode!

Any photography tips and tricks for our readers?

The only tip I have is to go exploring! Don’t feel beholden to shoot the most popular places in your area, but find the hidden gems. Thanks to the preservation groups on this island, there are plenty of beautiful locations that are just waiting to be found and appreciated, they just need the right person to find, appreciate, and shoot them.

@capecodgirl4life

Where are your favorite places to take photos?

National Seashore. My favorite time to take photos is during low tide and sunset on the flats.

What is your preferred camera?

Google Pixel 4 XL. I use a Moment lens and attach it to my phone if I need to use a wide lens.

Any photography tips and tricks for our readers?

Interesting composition is the number one most important aspect of a photo in my opinion. You need the contour, proportions, and leading lines of your image to draw your audience into that little square.

HAMILTON MAGRI @magri_photography

Where are your favorite places to take photos?

Hatches Harbor, Race Point beach and Captain Jack’s Wharf in Provincetown. Rock Harbor in Orleans. Shore Road and Highland Lighthouse in Truro.

What is your preferred camera?

Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 16-35mm and Tanrom 150-600mm.

Any photography tips and tricks for our readers?

Get to your location at least 30 minutes before the sunrise and stay at least 30 after the sunset. That’s when you are going to get the best and most intense lights and colors.

BOB AMARAL @bob_amaral_photography

Where are your favorite places to take photos? Dennis, Brewster, and Orleans. Another favorite is Chatham.

What is your preferred camera?

I am a Canon guy. Canon EOS R with a RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens and Canon EOS M50 with a Sigma 16mm f/1.4 lens.

Any photography tips and tricks for our readers?

Never shoot for the obvious. Always look for the smallest details to include in your pictures. Some of the best pictures have been below my feet and at low-level angles. Just don’t look at the sun and snap the shot. Look what is on the ground and on the sides of you. You can have a three thousand dollar camera and still take bad pictures.

RODRIGO ERENO @rodrigoereno.photography

Where are your favorite places to take photos?Around Chatham, Chatham Bars Inn, Chatham Lighthouse Coast Guard Station and Race Point Road in Provincetown.

What is your preferred camera?

Sony a6500 / Tamron Lens

What has been the most exciting moment you’ve experienced while shooting?

There is so much to explore on Cape Cod and you can find something extraordinary in any corner. The ocean in particular always takes my breath away: I just love the sound of the waves, the colors at any time of the day, the aroma of the salty air and the endless horizons your eyes will never reach.

BEN FORRESTER @ben.forrester

Where are your favorite places to take photos?

Town Neck Beach In Sandwich and the coastline of Falmouth.

What is your preferred camera?

Mavic 2 pro

Any photography tips and tricks for our readers?

Just go out and shoot. You can have all the knowledge in the world regarding photography but that is insignificant if you’re not practicing the art every day.

ASHLEY BILODEAU @ashleybilodeauphotography

Where are your favorite places to take photos?

If every moment is happening exactly in its perfect timing and placement then how could I pick a favorite spot? The true beauty on this planet is, as it is, not my attachment to it or what I’d like it to become.

What is your preferred camera?

I’m a Canon girl.

Any photography tips and tricks for our readers?

Shoot as much as you can. No moment is wasted. Until you have to remember to step out behind the camera and just be alive. Remember the greatest camera you have is your eyes and the biggest memory card is your brain.

JULIA CUMES @julia cumes

Where are your favorite places to take photos?

As a photojournalist by background, I’m always drawn to photographing people, so anywhere people are engaging in the world in an interesting setting.

What is your preferred camera?

Canon 5D Mark IVs, my go-to lenses are my 70200mm 2.8 lens, my 24-70 2.8mm lens and 50mm 1.4 prime lens.

Any photography tips and tricks for our readers?

One of the most common mistakes made by inexperienced photographers is that they do not fill the frame with their subject or the major elements of the image. I recommend filling about 80 percent of your frame with interesting subject matter. Try to show the viewer a version of the world they don’t see every day. Shoot, for example, from down below or up above. Julia’s photos can also be seen at @cape_cod_imagery

Downtown Connections

OpenCape, a community-focused partnership, means Main Street Falmouth businesses can count on being up and running all year long.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAN CUTRONA

PHOTO OPENCAPE wo years ago, George Sykes was feeling frustrated. At his busy bicycle shop on

Falmouth’s Palmer Avenue it was the hectic summer season and his staff members were having their usual internet issues. “With our previous provider, we suffered numerous outages,” says Sykes, who has owned Corner Cycle for more than 35 years.” We couldn’t get data between locations or to our online store. We couldn’t process credit cards. That basically crippled our business.” So when Sykes heard that a local not-for-profit fiber company would be offering affordable high-speed internet connections in downtown Falmouth, he was ready. “I think I must have been the first person to say yes,” says Sykes. “Once I knew that OpenCape was going to offer network connections here, I was in!” Headquartered in Barnstable Village, the OpenCape Corporation owns and operates the region’s only 100-percent fiber optic network. Originally built with funding from both the Commonwealth and the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act), the OpenCape network now serves hundreds of local governments, businesses, schools, community organizations, and residents of Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard. “The Falmouth Gigabit Project was initially a reaction to an immediate and pressing problem for the small businesses on Main Street,” says OpenCape CEO Steve Johnston, referring to the broadband initiative launched through a partnership with the Falmouth Chamber of Commerce and the Falmouth EDIC. Utilizing specific hardware known as a Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON), OpenCape has connected more than fifty small businesses in downtown Falmouth to a shared Gigabit of ultra high-speed and consistently reliable internet, and the project continues to expand to more customers. “High speed internet service provided at a competitive price has enabled dozens of Main Street businesses to run more efficiently,” says Falmouth Chamber of Commerce CEO/President Michael Kasparian. “By leveraging technology and eliminating service interruptions, business owners can focus more on providing better personal service to their customers.”

The newly connected companies on Main Street agree. “We don’t have to worry about the Internet anymore, and that is a good thing.” says Sara Hines, co-owner of Eight Cousins Books. Hines and her two business partners were enthusiastic about community-focused solutions to retail challenges, and they saw that the town of Falmouth and OpenCape were putting a lot into the project.

Reilly, Staff Member, Eight Cousins Books

We don’t have to worry about the Internet anymore, and that is a good thing.

SARA HINES, EIGHT COUSINS BOOKS

Alex and Greg, Owners, Aquatic Brewery

You are saving money and the product is better. It really is a no brainer!

SCOTT GHELFI, GHELFI’S CANDIES

Reliable, fast, reasonably priced internet is hard to beat.

GREG HORNING, AQUATIC BREWING

Greg Horning, one of the owners of the newly opened Aquatic Brewing echoed her sentiments. “OpenCape is very competitive in price and we like supporting a local business to build community.” Aquatic operates a taproom at the far end of Main Street, where it runs its point of sale system through the internet and offers WiFi to customers. “Reliable, fast, reasonably priced internet is hard to beat.” “Our goal is to offer an affordable choice in robust internet services across our region,” says Johnston. “We are talking to several other communities right now that are interested in replicating what Falmouth is doing on the Cape.” OpenCape has already installed the same GPON hardware in Hyannis, for example, where it also launched its first residential fiber pilot program last year in a multi-use building on Main Street, developed by CapeBuilt Companies. The not-for-profit is also currently connecting fiber to CapeBuilt’s newest project—the nearby Sea Captains Row residences.

“While we can and do offer commercial-level connections to residents that require that kind of dedicated symmetrical service, we also strongly support municipalities that are seeking town-run Fiber To The Home solutions,” says Johnston. “OpenCape is happy to work with customers to deliver whatever they need.” For the shops, restaurants, and services on the bustling streets of downtown Falmouth that means fast, consistent, and reliable internet. Rory Maguire of Liam Maguire’s Irish Pub touts the “peace of mind” the new fiber broadband connection gives them, while Scott Ghelfi, owner of Ghelfi’s Candies, another recent OpenCape customer, recommends that any local business take a look at the costs and benefits. “Since we’ve changed over to OpenCape, it’s been great,” says Ghelfi. “You are saving money and the product is better. It really is a no brainer!”

OpenCape Corporation 3195 Main St., Barnstable 508-362-2224 opencape.org