A Winter in Maine
For Christmas and New Year, I traveled to New England in the United States to spend time with family. I was really looking forward to experiencing a real winter again after so many years in Ireland without snow and ice. I didn't know much about the area before I left and just picked a little house in mid-coast Maine that would accommodate a small group of people.
Landing in Boston and driving up the US East Coast was already a great experience. I loved the traditional New England building style, and the landscape got wilder by the mile. After two and a half hours in the car, I lost cell phone reception and drove through beautiful little fishing villages along the Maine coast. Another hour later, I arrived at my little house, which was completely remote, directly by the sea, and awaited me with a basement full of firewood.
The following three weeks were one of the most beautiful and memorable in my whole life. I completely fell in love with the area and spent every waking minute outside exploring. The rugged beauty of the area was astounding. I love simplicity, that's what I always admired most about Italy and other Mediterranean countries. The people in Maine were so friendly and uncomplicated, so unfussy and straight-laced. Everyone took so much pride in decorating their little houses and making everything look pretty and festive.
I am still thinking about my time in Maine every day. One of my most favorite memories was watching my first snowfall in years, silently admiring how the little snowflakes sugarcoated the pine trees in front of the window. I usually have a very wanderlusty heart, and I could not help but fall in love with the area and feeling home and at peace there almost instantly. I am counting down the time until I can go back, and I hope I can live there one day.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank my good friends Bijan Sabet and Ray Larose for meeting up and spending time during my stay in Maine. You both are wonderful friends to me, and I feel very lucky to know you. Thank you for showing me around in your beautiful part of the world and introducing me to lobster rolls and blueberry pie.
A selection of prints from this series is available for purchase.
All images below were taken with the Hasselblad 503CW and the Carl Zeiss Planar T* 2.8/80 on Kodak Portra 400.
