Each year, as submissions pour in for our annual photo contest, we are delighted and impressed to see how expertly Down East readers capture what Maine is all about. Nearly 1,000 of you submitted photos this year in three categories: landscape, wildlife, and lifestyle. Narrowing those images down to a pool of finalists and, ultimately, a winner and two runners-up in each category was the task of Down East staff photographer Benjamin Williamson and a panel of three outstanding judges, Alberto Lopez, Sarah Rice, and S.B. Walker, all of whom have made scores of memorable images photographing the Pine Tree State.
Readers had their say too, voting in an online submission gallery to select this year’s Readers’ Choice winner. (Find a gallery of readers’ top-10 picks below!)
Thanks to everyone who shared their work with us. And a special thanks to the Natural Resources Council of Maine for sponsoring the contest and selecting the winner of this year’s special Maine Outdoors Prize.
Darcy Baird | Winthrop, Maine Taken in Winthrop Nikon D850, 200–500mm
Each spring, a pair of red foxes takes shelter under a shed behind my friend’s home, to give birth to their kits and raise them. Last April, the mother returned alone and gave birth to four adorable kits. I was blessed to capture this special moment from my ground blind, expressing the natural beauty, simple patience, and quiet curiosity of Maine’s nature and wildlife.
Kerry A. Daly | Scarborough, Maine Taken at Scarborough Marsh Nikon D850, 500mm
I happened to be at the right place at the right time to see this snowy egret showing off his breeding plumage. He was wading in shallow water with a small flock when all of a sudden he began dancing around, squawking, and inflating his elegant and exotic plumes in hopes of attracting a mate. A rare sight I will not soon forget!
John Owen | New Canaan, Connecticut Taken in York Nikon D500, 150–600mm
Among my favorite wildlife photos are those that capture a bit of interaction between individuals, so I was pleased to happen upon some fledgling barn swallows waiting for their parents to fly by and feed them. I got down to their level, and as the parents approached, the fledglings flapped their wings and opened their mouths — my cue to start shooting.
Susan Rosenberg Jones | New York, New York Taken aboard the Casco Bay Lines ferry Leica Q, 28mm
We like to visit Maine every summer. This past July, I wanted to celebrate my 70th birthday there with my family. We all took the Casco Bay ferry on an overcast day, and I observed my daughter leaning against the rail, enjoying the breeze, looking pensive. I thought the photo expressed the feeling of being on the water in Maine, enjoying the simple pleasures of a breezy boat ride.
Jon Campbell | Hermon, Maine Taken on Katahdin, in Baxter State Park Nikon D750, 300mm
Each year, I have the pleasure of helping the Baxter State Park rangers resupply the remote cabins and campsites during the winter months. While on one of these missions, I took a few minutes to capture a hiker and his guide on their way to cross Katahdin’s Knife Edge. While many hikers cross this spot during the summer months, very few end up crossing during the winter.
Rebekah Hodgson | Thomaston, Maine Taken at Deep Hole Point, in Jonesboro Samsung Galaxy S20
This was the last tide I harvested clams alongside my father before he was diagnosed with stage-four cancer. This photo is both beautiful and painful for me, knowing I took many years working beside my father for granted. It captures a lifetime of hard work, harvesting clams and lobstering. Now in remission, my father is a true down east man who works on the water — a beat-up truck, a skiff, flannel, the ocean.
Luke Madden | Portland, Maine Taken at Portland Head Light, Cape Elizabeth Canon EOS 5D III, 24–70mm
Leaving the airport after Hurricane Henri delayed my flight, I stopped at Portland Head Light to see what the surf was doing. Once I was on the beach, I knew I wanted a shot where the water was the focus instead of the much-photographed lighthouse — a perspective that celebrates the natural elements of the coastline more than the manufactured ones.
Karen Kurkjian | Pownal, Maine Taken at Sandy Point Beach, Cousins Island Fujifilm X-E2S, 70–300mm
Sandy Point Beach, on Yarmouth’s Cousins Island, is always a special place at daybreak. On this particular balmy August morning, I found this great blue heron surveying his tranquil domain, and I tried to capture the warmth and serenity of the moment.
Mark Teitelbaum | West Hartford, Connecticut Taken on Monhegan Island Canon EOS 5D IV, 28–300mm
I took this at dawn on Monhegan, while I was there participating in a Down East photo workshop last summer. The color of the sky is amazing. My wife and I fell in love with the island and its feel, and I think this view represents everything that’s special about the place.
Our contest sponsors at theNatural Resources Council of Mainechose one photo from among our finalists as winner of this year’s Maine Outdoors Prize. The winner gets a yearlong NRCM membership and a $100 gift certificate to the Maine gear shop of their choice. “We selected this for several reasons,” CEO Lisa Pohlmann says. “First, who doesn’t love cute animals? Also, the photo is a wonderful visual representation of NRCM’s work. We protect Maine’s environment just as this mama fox cares for her kit. Our work, together with our members, helps ensure clean and vibrant land, air, and water for wildlife and for people — those of us fortunate to call Maine home, as well as those who visit.” NRCM thanks all who support its work and invites Down East’s photo enthusiasts to check out the group’s weekly My Maine This Week photo.
Chris L’Abbé | Topsham, Maine Taken in Bowdoin Canon EOS 7D II, 150–600mm
To get this shot, I waited in an abandoned car for the mom to return to her den and the kits to run out and greet her. I hung a blanket in the open window of the car and hid below the seat, poking my lens through the blanket to capture this precious moment without disturbing the foxes. You can feel the love between the mom and her kits.
Nesting-seabird season brings thousands of puffins to Machias Seal Island between June and August. We set up in blinds, surrounded by birds so close you could reach out and touch them. This image reminded me of taking a leap of faith — which is what I did when I moved to Maine, and this is just one of the many great experiences I’ve had since.
These 10 photographers, some of whom submitted multiple images, received the most votes from readers. Click an image to view full size.
