The Tethered Archipelago

Spreading out into Penobscot Bay, Deer Isle is home to quintessential coastal vistas, a legacy of artisans, and Maine's most productive lobster port

Deer Isle feels at once remote and accessible. The island, which includes the towns of Deer Isle and Stonington, is connected to the mainland by a suspension bridge, Little Deer Isle, and a narrow causeway. Like many of Maine’s rocky outcroppings, the area is usually the end of the road for travelers; the few people just passing through Deer Isle are catching a ferry to Isle au Haut. Long famous—and named—for its granite quarries, Stonington lands more lobster than any other Maine port and pulled in 15 million pounds in 2018. Photographer Frederick Bloy has been visiting the Deer Isle archipelago his entire life. His grandparents own land around a deep cove on the tip of Little Deer Isle and built a cabin there in the 1950s. The archipelago’s landscape, with its numerous rocky islands, inlets, and bluffs, inspired Bloy to get into photography. He says the most unique landscape is found on the southern end of Deer Isle, which features bright, polished granite. “The stark contrast of the clean, white granite sandwiched between the dark ocean and the dark green pines is mesmerizing,” he says. “The intense tides and fluid bay weather create a constantly changing scene, which makes capturing that perfect image a constant search.”