Photos from New Canada, Maine - October, 2001

In the summer of 2000, on a trip to Maine prior to moving to the state, the community of Soldier Pond caught my eye. I took a lot of pictures and, not knowing what else to with them, I put them up on a website.

In April of 2001, along with our cats, my wife and I moved to Maine. I couldn’t get her to agree to move as far north as I’d have liked, so we settled on Millinocket, within driving distance of anything in Maine.

In October of 2001, I drove north intending to add a fall collection to my photographs of Soldier Pond. I had plenty of time, as I had rented a room at the Outlook in Eagle Lake, so I decided to branch out to New Canada.

When I first left Soldier Pond on New Canada Road, I was under the impression that the road was going east when it was actually taking me north, so it is quite likely that much of my locational information is inaccurate, particularly in the November 2001 collection. I’ve corrected a few errors already, and will continue to do so as I come across them, or when they are pointed out to me.

Please, if you can give me additional information about any of these photographs, please do. For example, if I have shown your house and identified it as being on Strip Road when it is actually on New Canada Road or elsewhere, please do let me know.

I am a tourist in New Canada, Maine. While I did take copious notes along with the photographs, my sense of direction was confused and I was not prepared for the fact that when I got the film back after having it developed onto a CD, the photographs were not in the order that they were taken.

Sometimes a tourist can see the beauty in something that has become commonplace to those who grew up with it. At other times, the tourist will simply make a mess of things.

- Ken Anderson