#ruralmaine

[willsontheroad-blog]

Palmyra Maine End of summer 2020 #mainefields #sunsetclouds #clouds #ontheroadphotography #travelphotography #photographer #mainestagrammers #Photography #sunsets #maine #upandcomingartist #photooftheday #beautiful #awesomeshot #naturelover #ontheroadphotography #travelphotography #art #ruralmaine #trees #eveningsky (at Palmyra, Maine) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEDMoeeHhLD/?igshid=1ewoaki8y9q12

#mainefields #sunsetclouds #clouds #ontheroadphotography #travelphotography #photographer #mainestagrammers #photography #sunsets #maine #upandcomingartist #photooftheday #beautiful #awesomeshot #naturelover #art #ruralmaine #trees #eveningsky

[roaddude]

Maine Winter Road . Going through Buxton on the way to Bridgton . . #mainewinter #snow #winterroads #winterscene #frosty #nomadlife #iphoneography #lookingattheworldthroughawindshield #travel #travelblogger #wintervives #mainelife #ontheroad #winterinmaine #winterbeauty #idratherbecamping #inthe207 #maineinwinter #roadtrip #blackandwhite #landscape #ruralmaine #mainescenery #snowsnowsnow #lifeinmaine #winterwonderland #winterart #snowflakes (at Buxton, Maine)

#winterbeauty #snow #ruralmaine #lifeinmaine #winterroads #nomadlife #lookingattheworldthroughawindshield #winterscene #travel #blackandwhite #landscape #travelblogger #winterinmaine #inthe207 #wintervives #idratherbecamping #snowflakes #ontheroad #winterwonderland #mainelife #frosty #maineinwinter #mainescenery #iphoneography #roadtrip #snowsnowsnow #mainewinter #winterart

[eisenhaurphotography]

You cant see it here but at the time I shot this Sunday there were 3 people skinning up and 3 people at the peak! Saddleback may be closed for the time being but the people of the area dont let it go un-used!❄🌲🌤🚁📸 . . . . . . #saddlebackmaine #skimaine #ridemaine #ruralmaine #rangeleymaine #my207 (at Saddleback Mountain) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqZi2zrnRfZ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ex1jq1awh9q8

#saddlebackmaine #skimaine #ridemaine #ruralmaine #rangeleymaine #my207

[nonbinary-nature-lover-jeri]

One creature you will see if you travel Maine, particularly in more rural or wooded areas is a moose. Here’s an impressive bull moose. This is from Bushnell. . #Moose #BullMoose #MaineMoose #RuralMaine https://www.instagram.com/p/BpiR6zkgGru/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=11q5luj0yix7b

#moose #bullmoose #mainemoose #ruralmaine

[95percentmaine]

Meet Grace Ericson, photographed in Yarmouth.

When Grace Ericson was in second grade, a boy in class called her “China-face.” She wasn’t offended. She thought his name-calling was in reference to her country of origin, not based on her appearance. So, she responded by calling him “Presque Isle-face.”

“I wasn't born here, but I live here now, and I've pretty much lived here my whole life,” says Grace. “I don't really think about [China] that much, because it never really comes up.”

Grace was adopted in China and came to Maine as an 18-month-old. Her younger brother, Peter, was also adopted from China. Grace sometimes wonders about her birth mother, what she looks like and if she’d even recognize her. One day she’ll visit China, she says.

As a freshman at Yarmouth High School, sports plays a big role in Grace’s life. Although soccer is her favorite, she also enjoys lacrosse because the sports are similar and they involve a lot of running. “I usually like to play mid-field, where you're running down the field and trying to score a goal," she says. “You're part of everything, and you feel like you're supposed to help people out.”

Among friends, Grace is known as the “chill” and funny one. In middle school, she’d stay away from the drama — which often started with texting among students. Friends would confide in her with their problems, and she’s a good listener. “I'm not really in a group of friends. I have a lot of friends that hang out with different people,” she says. “I'm not the one to get angry at someone.”

Over the summer, Grace worked as a counselor in training at her town’s camp. She likes being a role model for younger kids, but admits that she didn’t expect some of the challenges that came with being a counselor, including fighting among campers. “It just surprised me because, wow, this is how we were at this age. They fight over silly things like who gets ‘out’ in a game. It's just a game, and you have to try to settle it.”

Grace has thought about pursuing teaching as a career. “Maybe little kids, like first grade, because they're really cute,” she wonders aloud, but then acknowledges that some kids don’t listen and maybe she’d prefer teaching middle school. “You expect them to be more mature, but the kids in my grades aren't that mature… If you're a middle school teacher you'll be in all that drama, too. So, I don't know.”

Earlier this year, Grace visited a childhood friend in New York City. They went to a concert by boy-band Why Don’t We, rode the subway, and visited Times Square. She enjoyed the crowds and how different the city is from where she lives, but still feels at home in Maine. “I probably would not want to live in New York City,” she says. “I like living here.”

#peopleofcolor #race #minorities #ethnicity #asian #ruralmaine #maine #portrait #portraitseries #a7riii

[moyamcallister]

Twilight farm, pretty light last night on our way to Belfast, ME . . #latergram #lastnightsview #roadtrippers #ruralmaine #backroads #farmsofinstagram (at Seven Tree Pond)

#latergram #lastnightsview #roadtrippers #ruralmaine #backroads #farmsofinstagram

[fillumdekho]

Pet Sematary (2019) - Trailer 2 - Paramount Pictures

#PetSematary #2019 #Trailer2 #ParamountPictures #Horror

They don’t come back the same. Watch the second trailer for#PetSematary, based on Stephen King’s terrifying novel. In theatres April 5,2019. Based on the seminal horror novel by Stephen King, (#StephenKing)#PetSematary follows Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke), who, after relocating withhis wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz) and their two young children from Boston to ruralMaine, discovers a mysterious…

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[willsontheroad-blog]

Pittsfield maine morning summer 2020 #frogsofinstagram #frogstagram #photographersofinstagram #photographeratwork #nature_lovers #maine #upandcomingartist #photooftheday #beautiful #awesomeshot #naturelover #ontheroadphotography #travelphotography #art #ruralmaine https://www.instagram.com/p/CDtTj7VAV6z/?igshid=amzvbc2f0fzs

#frogsofinstagram #frogstagram #photographersofinstagram #photographeratwork #nature_lovers #maine #upandcomingartist #photooftheday #beautiful #awesomeshot #naturelover #ontheroadphotography #travelphotography #art #ruralmaine

[eisenhaurphotography]

A wintery sunrise over Rangeley lake this past Saturday with the Bigelow Mountain Range in the background! Hard to believe it's still October! 🌲🍁🌳❄ . . . . . . #ruralmaine #rangeleymaine #mainewoods #maine #mainesunrise #mymaine (at Rangeley, Maine) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bpg1XfKHbYc/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1f60kbxdzpkq0

#ruralmaine #rangeleymaine #mainewoods #maine #mainesunrise #mymaine

[95percentmaine]

Meet Marilou Ranta, photographed in Monson, Maine.

Marilou felt proud. She had just completed her degree in Culinary Arts at Eastern Maine Community College. She was the oldest in her class of students in their teens and twenties. She was even older than her instructor, and her graduation happened to coincide with her 50th birthday.

She and her husband, Billy Ranta, were going to celebrate her achievement in Bar Harbor, but he said he felt ill, so they headed back home to Monson. The field full of cars should have tipped her off as they drove up to their old farmhouse built by Billy’s great grandfather. When she stepped through the door she was surprised, and greeted by a house full of people. Surveying the room, she recognized the community members and family that had welcomed her to town over 20 years ago when she first arrived to this small, rural town in Piscataquis County. They were the people who believed in her.

Marilou grew up in Bulakanon, Phillipines, on the island of Mindanao, the youngest of 12 children. Her barrio (a term of Spanish origin that Filipinos use to refer to a rural village) was, in her own words, like “Little House on the Prairie.” She started her relationship with food early, picking vegetables and feeding the animals at age 5. She was advanced in school and skipped a few grades, graduating at age 15.

“There’s nothing for me in the barrio. I don’t want to have five kids and work someone else’s farm,” Marilou recalls. She left home at age 16 and ended up in Manila, working as a maid for a couple of years. There, she met her first husband who was in the U.S. Air Force, and they moved to the United States. She is the only member of her family to leave the Philippines.

She eventually remarried Billy, an army paratrooper who she met at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and the couple decided to move to Monson, his hometown. They worked multiple jobs to make ends meet while raising two children. She loved to cook and, even more so, hosting and serving people. Their home would often be the gathering place for big parties, including pig roasts. At one point Marliou ran an Asian food stand at the Monson general store, called “LouLou’s Takeout.” But she had bigger plans — she wanted to own and operate her own fine dining restaurant.

“You could never go into fine dining if you don't have the degree, because they will always look at you like, ‘oh, you’re just the cook.’ Plus, I always wanted to go to college,” says Marilou. Before and during her culinary degree program, Marilou gained experience working as a chef at the Blair Hill Inn, an upscale bed and breakfast in nearby Greenville. While working at the inn she was approached by the Libra Foundation, a Maine-based charitable grant program. They wanted to invest millions of dollars to transform Monson, known through history for its slate quarries, into an artist colony. The program would fund a group of artist residencies throughout the year, and the foundation was in need of a fine dining option to feed the artists.

As she sat down for a phone conversation between Lucas Butler, Monson’s former town manager who became project manager for the Libra Foundation, and the chief executive of the foundation, Marilou dreamed of a fancy food truck. She wasn’t prepared for what the foundation would propose.

“They're in Portland, on the phone, and they're like, ‘Yeah, well, how about we'll just give you a restaurant. You run it yourself,’” Marilou recalls. She was in disbelief and also had no money, but the foundation was willing to invest in a location as long as she would take on the restaurant duties. She looked at Lucas and asked if she was getting “punked.” He responded, “No, you just got Libra-d.”

Her restaurant, The Quarry, opened in spring 2018. It’s an Asian fusion restaurant — some recent menu items have French and Scandinavian influences. Marilou’s staff of eight includes waitstaff that she babysat years ago. She’s grooming her sous chef to someday own his own business and his girlfriend runs the bar.

“It's like a family...I'm the mother for every one of them, because I give them a pep talk,” says Marilou. There have been moments of “tough love,” when someone shows up to work late or looking too tired after a night of partying. “I've worked at a restaurant before and I promised myself: No. No drama.”

Although many of her customers are visitors to the region, Marilou does not want locals to be dissuaded from dining at The Quarry, especially because it is dubbed a “fine dining” restaurant. She wants the atmosphere to be casual and welcoming. Early on, an elderly resident around town known as “Mr. B” poked his head in the door and asked if he was allowed to come in. “I said, ‘You always have a table here, Mr. B.’ So he would come and drink tea, and I give him dessert. Then he goes off.”

#peopleofcolor #race #minorities #ethnicity #asian #phlippines #filipina #ruralmaine #maine #portrait #portraitseries #4x5film #filmisnotdead #film #chef #cuisines #cook #fusion

[willsontheroad-blog]

Dexter Maine summer morning 2020 #ontheroadphotography #photographersofinstagram #photographeratwork #morningsunshine #goodmorningsunshine #goodmorning #morningmotivation #ruralmaine #rural #ruralphotography #maine #upandcomingartist #photooftheday #beautiful #awesomeshot #naturelover #ontheroadphotography #travelphotography #art #ruralmaine #trees https://www.instagram.com/p/CDtTHpKgrJm/?igshid=mthj39vt6a0b

#ontheroadphotography #photographersofinstagram #photographeratwork #morningsunshine #goodmorningsunshine #goodmorning #morningmotivation #ruralmaine #rural #ruralphotography #maine #upandcomingartist #photooftheday #beautiful #awesomeshot #naturelover #travelphotography #art #trees

[95percentmaine]

Meet Hanji Chang, photographed in Rockland, Maine.

When Hanji arrived in the midcoast of Maine with her soon-to-be husband, Andy O’Brien, she thought to herself, “this is what I want.” She and Andy had been living in Taiwan — he was in a punk rock band and she was working as a graphic designer. They were touring possible destinations to settle down, including big cities like Philadelphia and Boston.

When they first moved to Lincolnville, Andy’s hometown, the first few months were a tough adjustment for Hanji. She was waiting on a work permit, didn’t drive (she never needed to in Taipei), and wasn’t prepared for the harsh winter. The stares during trips to the small town’s general store would be uncomfortable. Yet, she felt welcomed by the community despite feeling like an outsider.

“Hanji” means “Korean chick” in Chinese. She earned that nickname --- and has adopted it as the name she goes by. Her life has always been about adaptability. She was born in Taiwan to a Korean mother and Taiwanese father, moved to South Africa toward the end of the Apartheid, moved back to Taiwan (and re-learned Chinese), then moved Maine, living in Portland while studying New Media at the Maine College of Art.

While in college she created “Temp Tales” in an animation class. It’s like South Park in Maine, but laced with profanity and cultural references only Mainers would truly understand. Andy would write the episodes and do character voices, while she created the animations. The content in the videos were largely based off of real life experiences.

An early episode, “Meat Recall,” viewed over 650,000 times on YouTube, which Hanji admits has “awful” animation, was based off of a real phone call Andy received while at a call center for a supermarket. “The first however many years that we were just struggling; doing different jobs, moving here and there. That whole period of time, really, was the key to feeding our career now,” she says. “Without those jobs, there would be no Temp Tales.”

The videos caught on and soon she was being approached by businesses to create animations for them. The business has grown, changing names from O’Chang Comics (a name that statted in college combining Andy and Hanji’s last names) to Puckerbrush Animation. They’ve created anything from videos about climate change and environment to trailers and music videos. Temp Tales videos have racked up almost 3 million views and a full-length movie is currently in production.

But the cartoon that started it all makes Hanji feel conflicted about her adopted home. She acknowledges that Temp Tales is “Maine-redneck, guy-humor” which has gained a loyal following. When she and Andy go to shows and signings around the state she can’t help but feel slighted by some fans.

“Even though they know I'm the creator, I don't think they are intentionally being mean — I really don't. I think part of it is just really being ignorant,” she adds, “they will ask me random things, like ask me to hold their coat.” She says some fans will get aggressive, trying to bargain down prices on merchandise or tell her how to run the business. Andy is never treated the same way and she believes it’s due to their lack of exposure to non-white people.

After the 2016 presidential election she said that she would get honked or yelled at walking down the street in Rockland. “I never was before, and now...I am kind of scared,” she said. “Every time there is a big truck, and again, our cartoons celebrate these giant trucks...I'm deeply scared of these people that I'm celebrating in my cartoons. So there is like, this confusion, in my mind.”

Yet, her internal conflict about her community hasn’t fazed her desire to stay in rural Maine. She had a realization one weekend, that she has developed a very diverse community of friends. She started off attending a high-brow hors d'oeuvre party with liberal friends, including a former Obama intern, then attended a hippie festival, and capped it off with a pig roast with a “redneck” crowd.

Although she appreciated the diversity of Portland (and shopping at Asian grocery stores) when she was in college, she oddly felt isolated by the amount of people and abundance of activities. It didn’t feel like home, and she made one true friend who she keeps in touch with. She and Andy even stopped showing Temp Tales in Portland, realizing it’s “just not our crowd.”

When Hanji’s nephew was sick and when Andy’s father died, the town came together despite personal or political disagreements. One man who couldn’t stand her father-in-law volunteered to film his funeral ceremony. A week later he went back to disparaging Andy’s mother. “We still disagree with each other,” she says about him, “but when things happen, the community, regardless of who you are, the community comes together, and this is something that I believe in.”

#peopleofcolor #race #minorities #ethnicity #Asian #korean #taiwanese #ruralmaine #maine #portrait #portraitseries #4x5 #4x5film #film #filmisnotdead #artist #animator

[95percentmaine]

Meet Zsakiyah “Ziggy” Brown, photographed in Unity, Maine.

Zsakiyah Brown had transferred to five different public schools in and around New York City and spent part of her middle school years living in a homeless shelter. Still, the self-described perennial “new kid” graduated as an “A” student. But by the end of her freshman year at a New York college, Zsakiyah, known as Ziggy, was failing every class except for Algebra and her relationship with the coach who had offered her a basketball scholarship there had soured.

Ziggy made the 13-hour drive to Fort Kent, a small town on the Canadian border, to visit the University of Maine Fort Kent and try out for their basketball team. A year later, she admitted, she felt the urge to leave again. When she revealed to her coach at Fort Kent that she was thinking of leaving school, he warned her that scholarships and opportunities for an education wouldn’t last forever. Ziggy, who now works at Unity College as the assistant athletic director, decided to stick with Maine and get her degree.

While Ziggy expects she will move again before too long – “I feel like a nomad for sure” – Maine has grown on her.  “A lot of Fort Kent was me making it work, finding the right people,” she says.

She discovered a love of poutine and learned how to ride a T bar; a necessary step to her desire to snowboard. She went showshoeing and shot a rifle. She crashed a snowmobile playing a game of tag, where participants zip around throwing snowballs at each other. She spent her first Thanksgiving with faculty and hosted dinners with fellow students who didn’t return home for the holiday.

Although she was a black student from New York in rural Maine, she didn’t feel out of place. She recalled that she inadvertently became a part of a cultural exchange with a white student when the student asked her if she tanned, burned or stayed “that color.” “At first I was like, is she being racist, right here? Right here in my face?” recalls Ziggy. But she kept the conversation going.

“Okay tell me what you are trying to say,” she remembers telling the student, “and I’m going to give you five seconds now, I won’t take offense. Tell me what you’re trying to say, I’ll reword it, then you’ll ask, and I’ll help you figure out what you’re trying to say.”

It took awhile, but the approach worked, she says. And over time, she learned about as much about rural white culture.

“They talk about rednecks, and I was never comfortable with saying the word ‘redneck’ because that’s just something you don’t say.” She would also hear the word “hick” being used, but was assured that some white people were proud to be “rednecks,” and that they aren’t necessarily racist. “So now we’re both learning,” she says, quickly adding, “[I’m] still not going to say the word.”

After graduating, Ziggy continued to pursue her love for basketball and played overseas earning her master’s degree in sociology and management. Her dream is to become the athletic director of a small Division II school, but she doesn’t picture herself staying in Maine long term.

“I don’t want it to sound bad in any way, but I don't want my black child growing up in an all white school,” says Ziggy, who grew up with a Dominican babysitter and a Jamaican stepfather. “I feel like sometimes white kids are missing out on other things in life because they have to ask those questions when they get to college. I want [my children] to be well-rounded.”

“I will probably come back, just because I love the outdoors. There’s just something here. There's something here that has a hold on me for sure. It’s special.”

#race #peopleofcolor #minorities #ethnicity #black #blackamerican #africanamerican #fortkent #fortkentmaine #unity #unitymaine #rural #ruralmaine #maine #portugal #portraitseries #4x5 #4x5photography #film #filmisnotdead