Last week this reporter came across a lot of interesting people, and groups of people, from away, who were happy to share their names and hometowns, and to smile for the camera, for a little story about their reasons for coming to Boothbay Harbor, and to share stories about some of the food and places they enjoyed while here.

One of those groups had a little too much information to share for a short story. So they get their own.

Ryan Flathau, a photography and multimedia program coordinator, had driven a refurbished school bus from Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek, Michigan to Maine to teach his photography students a lesson or two in landscape photography.

The group of photographers, 15 in all, included 11 photography students and three former students who couldn't fit into the 12-passenger bus, so they decided to follow along in another vehicle. They were all here for the day to shoot photos in town and on a whale watch boat excursion with Capt. Fish.

They arrived at around 9 a.m. on June 22, and did some shopping while waiting to go out on the whale watch.

Nick Arnold, one of the former students, said it was his second photography trip to Boothbay Harbor and Maine in general. “I've loved it each time — coming to Boothbay and then Acadia.”

Former students Nadine Weisser and Pam Sikora both said this was their first trip to Maine. They were still hoping to try some lobster while they were here.

Student Tony Allrev said he had never been to Maine either. “I love it here,” he said. “This is a great little town. And I have had some lobster.”

Another student piped in. “This is really different for us,” Sabrina Desourdy said. “I've never been further east than Ohio. We don't have anything like this in Michigan. Our little downtown areas aren't a community like this is. And I've never seen the Atlantic Ocean before.”

Olivia Ogden said she was looking forward to visiting an uncle in Bar Harbor. “I've never been there, and I'm really excited,” she said. “We're going to have lunch together.” She said her grandmother lives in Bath, and she had visited her the night before.

Student Lee West said it was his first time in Maine, too. “It's been a little warmer here than we were expecting, but I love it here. Somebody said it was humid yesterday. People here don't know what humid is.”

It wasn't Flathau's first time in Maine, or Boothbay Harbor. He lived in Augusta for a year a while back and ran a photo program at the University of Maine at Augusta. He said that during that time, in '05 and '06, he made some trips to a few places along the coast to familiarize himself with the landscape. “When I got back to Battle Creek I decided to do a landscape class, and as I was familiar with Maine, it was my first landscape class, bringing students here.”

Most of the students are photo majors, with an associate’s degree in photography, according to Flathau.

The group didn't waste time photographing along the way from Battle Creek. It only took them two days to get to Maine. They drove 11 hours on Saturday and camped in Herkimer Diamond Mines in New York, then drove six or seven hours on Sunday to get to Hermit Island.

“These guys have been really great about staying up into the wee hours of the morning,” Flathau said. They’ve been photographing the strawberry moon (a rare occurrence that happened on June 20) and doing “light paintings.” Those are photographs made by lighting up grass, or something else in the foreground, with a flashlight.

After leaving Boothbay Harbor, the group was off to Pemaquid Point for some sightseeing and, of course, some photos, and then on to Bar Harbor. “We're going to do some photographing at the Penobscot Bridge, and then head up to Acadia, where we'll spend two nights,” Flathau said.

For most of the group, it was their first trip to Maine. Some had never seen the ocean. Chances are they'll be back.

See more photos taken by the photographers from Battle Creak here.