Ordinary Maine

This Christmas Santa was very kind to my children. Camden was thrilled to get his own sled. Yesterday afternoon we drove out to my grandparents house so Camden could join his cousins in some outdoor fun. Of course that means he got to have his first ever run on a sled.

While the war on poverty has been waged by liberals since the 1960s, the pictures below are actual homes that people live in here in the State of Maine. I took these pictures a few years ago when I traveled to Ripley, Maine to do some photography for Doug Thomas and his firewood operation. After a day of work with Doug, we took off to take some photos of poverty in Maine.

I remember getting lunch at a store that was closing due to lack of business. We talked with a young teenager who was working all kinds of odd jobs to get out of rural Maine. When asked why she did not want to stay she basically said the only options for young people in rural Maine were drugs or welfare. Sadly three years later little has changed.

Loggers don't cut wood. Paper Companies don't make paper and textile mills don't make fabrics for the clothes that people wear. I cannot even imagine what it must be like to live in one of these homes. Especially given the weather we are getting with temps in the single digits.

Here is to being thankful for what we have.

Tony

PS. You can see my work with Doug Thomas here.

Last Friday night I was able to get some time outside to take a few pictures of the City of Westbrook's Christmas Tree in Riverbank Park. Below is a picture of the 2004 Christmas Tree for comparison.

The 2004 Riverbank Park Christmas Tree

I will see if I can try for some more Christmas pictures in the next nine days.

Tony

Access is one of the things that most photographers long for. I am fortunate because many of my personal friends both in and out of work have the ability to grant me that access. Today I was invited by Darryl Wright of Maine Bank and Trust to take pictures of Governor Baldacci's appearance at the bank to wrap Christmas gifts in support of Mission Possible Teen Center. I just wanted to share a few photos from this morning's appearance.

The event raised some much needed funds for Mission Possible Teen Center in Westbrook, Maine and our Governor did a great job wrapping presents. He was assisted by local radio and television personality Ray Richardson from the WLOB Fox Morning news.

That's a slice of my Ordinary Maine this December 9th, 2008.

Tony

Last Friday night Camden and I took a trip into Portland, to visit the Narrow Gauge Railroad and its rendition of the Polar Express. We got a little wrapped up in the season on the way and so we were among the last people to board the train. We rode in the Caboose and to make the whole trip even better we sat in the observation chairs in the Caboose. Needless to say we had some of the best and most unique seats in the house.

This is Camden showing off his ticket to the Polar Express.
This is a shot of Camden enjoying his hot chocolate.

Never let it cool!

This is a shot of the Conductor talking with Camden. We really had a nice time with the entire event. Below is a video of Camden looking at out the Caboose windows as the Polar Express Returns to the Ocean Gate Terminal.

We had a great time on this trip. We took the 7:45 PM train and after the train ride we went into the Ocean Gate Terminal to visit with Santa. Camden had is picture taken and then received his bell. Readers of the book "The Polar Express" know that a bell from Santa's Rain deer's harness is the first gift of Christmas. I also got my bell and we were off into the night.

For those of you who are not familiar, "The Polar Express" was written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg and it depicts the journey of a young boy aboard a train on a journey to the North Pole. We read this book to our kids every Christmas Eve and have ever since Camden's first Christmas. We video tape each reading so we have a way to mark time with the kids. Taking Camden to the train last week was just the icing on the cake.

Oh, yeah! I was the only dad to get in the spirit of the journey and wear pajamas.

Tony