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You could spend a decade photographing the areas around Newport
Harbor and not run out of material.
Boats
The most obvious locations are the marinas.
Thousands of boats of all types, sizes and shapes are docked
or moored in the harbor. Most of the docks are private, limiting
your access through them, but plenty of land-based photo opportunities
are available from just off the docks around the harbor. If
you want to come to Newport to photograph boats, however, come
in summer. By winter so many boats have been moved from the
harbor that it's hard to tell the port was ever busy.
You can also photograph boats from the few passenger ferries
(see below), but the best way to work from the water is to be
in your own boat. Several places in Newport rent them, and being
in a boat will allow you to work at your own pace, at the times
of day you wish.
Due to the lack of tall buildings in Newport, the marinas are
out of shadow almost any time of day.
The Point
The neighborhood just north of the bridge
to Goat Island is known as "The Point." The area is
home some of Newport's oldest colonial-era houses, many of them
brightly (and interestingly) colored. Many of Newport's old
captains, artists and merchants used to live in the homes.
The houses are close together, so shadows can get tricky at
prime light hours. Overcast conditions are probably best for
photographing this area.
Fort Adams State Park
Historic fort dating back to Colonial
times. Large and suited with the usual fort stuff: canons, bunkers,
etc.
The park also includes a yacht museum and lots more boats.
Also check out the Eisenhower House, the 19-century dwelling
that President Dwight D. Eisenhower spent his summers in. The
house itself is picturesque, and the lawns leading to the water
provide decent panoramas of the bay and harbor.
The park is open from sunrise to sunset, and there is no admission
fee.
Newport Bridge
Most useful as a foreground or background
subject. Best places to photograph it are from:
The bridge to Goat Island. There's a pull-off where you
can park. Plenty of room to set up and work. Excellent spot
for shooting sunsets, especially in summer.
At the end of Cypress Street (off of Third Street, almost
right under Route 138). Another good spot for sunsets. Also,
by using a long telephoto lens, you can get a nice compressed
image of the bridge from here on a clear day.
Down the hill from Eisenhower House.
Rose Island, which you'll need a ferry or boat to get to.
The peninsula at Narragansett Bay's East Passage, just north of Castle Hill Lighthouse.
Lighthouses
The only lighthouse in the harbor is
Goat Island Light, which isn't all that impressive. It is lit,
however. A great spot to photograph it (front-lit at sunrise
or backlit at sunset) is from the pull-off on the bridge to
the island. You can also access it on the grounds of the Hyatt
hotel, but there the angles are tough and you'll need a wide-angle
lens.
The Rose Island Light is not technically in the harbor, but
you can get to it on the Jamestown ferry that also hits many
spots that are in the harbor. See the Rose
Island Location Report for more information.
Castle Hill Light is located at the entrance to Narragansett
Bay; follow the Ocean Drive toward and past Fort Adams. Call
Castle Hill Inn and ask for permission to work on the grounds;
they're very accomodating.
Also …
For more architecture and travel photo
opportunities, look past the harbor and into the city of Newport,
such as on Spring Street and Bellevue Avenue (north of Memorial
Boulevard). There's also the Ocean Drive and the Cliff Walk
past the mansions (which isn't all that great a photo opportunity,
except for straight stock).
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