Fri, 03/11/2022 - 5:30pm

Spring has arrived! (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

New green! (Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

(Photo Brenda Sullivan)

Twilight. (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

(Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Buoys in snow. (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

A winter’s eve. (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

Mudflat mirror. (Photo by George Hardt)

January 29, 2022 blizzard. (Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Boatyard Star. (Photo courtesy Carolyn Kanicki)

(Photo courtesy Roger Wickenden)

Winter at the Keag. (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

(Photo courtesy Brenda Sullivan)

Almanac-By-Tree. November 21, 2021. Rockland, Maine. (Photo courtesy Maggie Trout)

November sky (Photo courtesy Jane Schroeder)

(Photo courtesy Jane Schroeder)

(Photo courtesy Roger Wickenden)

November full moon (Photo courtesy Carolyn Kanicki)

Rockland at low tide (Photo courtesy Carolyn Kanicki)

A feast of November-foraged felled apples. Rockland. (Photo by Maggie Trout)

Pastel sunrise. (Photo by Jane Schroeder)

Feeder frenzy. (Photo by Jane Schroeder)

White pigeons and pigeons in flight. (Photo by Jane Schroeder)

Sunrise. (Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Mackerel sky. (Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Sunrise over the Rockland Breakwater, December 1. (Photo by Cathy Trueman)

Cozy under the Xmas tree. (Photo by Jane Schroeder)

Xmas light magic. (Photo by Jane Schroeder)

The 3 wild turkeys visit every day! (Photo by Jane Schroeder)

(Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Cheerful holiday decorations at Strawberry Hill Seaside Inn, Rockport. (Photo courtesy of Maggie Trout)

Christmas Full Moon. (Photo courtesy Carolyn Kanicki)

(Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Lights in the darkness. (Photo by Jane Schroeder)

Holiday lights in Rockland. (Photo courtesy Carolyn Kanicki)

Palindrome Solstice Moon 12.21.21. Rockland, Maine. (Photo by Maggie Trout)

Buoy Tree. (Photo by Deb Shepard)

Botanical Gardens-Boothbay. (Photo by Deb Shepard)

Merry Christmas. (Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Chickawauke Lake at sunrise. (Photo by Deb Shepard)

Rockport Harbor, Jan. 4, 2022. (Photo by William Bow)

Fog rolls in as tide goes out. (Photo by Jane Schroeder)

Morning Light. (Photo courtesy Carolyn Kanicki)

(Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

cool breeze. (Photo by George Hardt)

Pileated Woodpecker in the yard. (Photo by Jane Schroeder)

No picnic. (Photo by George Hardt)

sea smoke and mirrors. (Photo by George Hardt)

Cold weekend in Lake Megunticook. (Photo by Roger Wickenden)

Setting "wolfe moon" 11/18/22. (Photo by Roger Wickenden)

“Barnacle Goose” was photographed by William Bow, a tourist from Greenland visiting the Rockland Golf Course.

Photo by Nancy Benner.

January 29, 2022 blizzard. (Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Winterfest Sculpture.( Photo Brenda Sullivan)

Winterfest Sculpture. (Photo Brenda Sullivan)

Twilight. (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

Weathered Beauty. Rockland, Maine. February 12, 2022. (Photo by Maggie Trout)

(Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Rockland inner harbor. (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

Camden Harbor. (Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

(Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Spring brings the first crocus bloom. Rockland, Maine. March 25, 2022. Photo by Maggie Trout.

Late winter scenes on Megunticook and Sugarloaf. (Photo by Roger Wickenden)

First Spring chives basking in the rays of a Zia sun. Rockland, Maine. March 29, 2022. (Photo by Maggie Trout)

A sure sign of Spring! (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

April 3, 2022, Rockland, Maine (Photo by Maggie Trout)

(Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Peaceful Harbor. (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

Alewives Net. (Photo Brenda Sullivan)

“Erythronium Americanum: Yellow Trout Lily, American Trout Lily, Eastern Trout Lily, Yellow Dogtooth Violet - although a misnomer; not a Viola. Native plant. Withstanding gusting winds in Rockland, Maine. The sole blossom in the colony. April 28, 2022 Photo by Maggie Trout.”

Rock Carin at Sandy Beach. (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

(Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

View from the back door on rainy May 4, 2022, Rockland, Maine. Magnificent forsythia, (Family:Oleaceae), grown from a neighbor's gift of self-propagated plants. A glorious remembrance. Photo by Maggie Trout

Weeping cherry (Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

(Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Happy May! (Photo by Deb Shepard)

Sunrise (Photo by Susan Kanellakis))

Spring has arrived! (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

New green! (Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

(Photo Brenda Sullivan)

Twilight. (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

(Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Buoys in snow. (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

A winter’s eve. (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

Mudflat mirror. (Photo by George Hardt)

January 29, 2022 blizzard. (Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Boatyard Star. (Photo courtesy Carolyn Kanicki)

(Photo courtesy Roger Wickenden)

Winter at the Keag. (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

(Photo courtesy Brenda Sullivan)

Almanac-By-Tree. November 21, 2021. Rockland, Maine. (Photo courtesy Maggie Trout)

November sky (Photo courtesy Jane Schroeder)

(Photo courtesy Jane Schroeder)

(Photo courtesy Roger Wickenden)

November full moon (Photo courtesy Carolyn Kanicki)

Rockland at low tide (Photo courtesy Carolyn Kanicki)

A feast of November-foraged felled apples. Rockland. (Photo by Maggie Trout)

Pastel sunrise. (Photo by Jane Schroeder)

Feeder frenzy. (Photo by Jane Schroeder)

White pigeons and pigeons in flight. (Photo by Jane Schroeder)

Sunrise. (Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Mackerel sky. (Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Sunrise over the Rockland Breakwater, December 1. (Photo by Cathy Trueman)

Cozy under the Xmas tree. (Photo by Jane Schroeder)

Xmas light magic. (Photo by Jane Schroeder)

The 3 wild turkeys visit every day! (Photo by Jane Schroeder)

(Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Cheerful holiday decorations at Strawberry Hill Seaside Inn, Rockport. (Photo courtesy of Maggie Trout)

Christmas Full Moon. (Photo courtesy Carolyn Kanicki)

(Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Lights in the darkness. (Photo by Jane Schroeder)

Holiday lights in Rockland. (Photo courtesy Carolyn Kanicki)

Palindrome Solstice Moon 12.21.21. Rockland, Maine. (Photo by Maggie Trout)

Buoy Tree. (Photo by Deb Shepard)

Botanical Gardens-Boothbay. (Photo by Deb Shepard)

Merry Christmas. (Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Chickawauke Lake at sunrise. (Photo by Deb Shepard)

Rockport Harbor, Jan. 4, 2022. (Photo by William Bow)

Fog rolls in as tide goes out. (Photo by Jane Schroeder)

Morning Light. (Photo courtesy Carolyn Kanicki)

(Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

cool breeze. (Photo by George Hardt)

Pileated Woodpecker in the yard. (Photo by Jane Schroeder)

No picnic. (Photo by George Hardt)

sea smoke and mirrors. (Photo by George Hardt)

Cold weekend in Lake Megunticook. (Photo by Roger Wickenden)

Setting "wolfe moon" 11/18/22. (Photo by Roger Wickenden)

“Barnacle Goose” was photographed by William Bow, a tourist from Greenland visiting the Rockland Golf Course.

Photo by Nancy Benner.

January 29, 2022 blizzard. (Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Winterfest Sculpture.( Photo Brenda Sullivan)

Winterfest Sculpture. (Photo Brenda Sullivan)

Twilight. (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

Weathered Beauty. Rockland, Maine. February 12, 2022. (Photo by Maggie Trout)

(Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Rockland inner harbor. (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

Camden Harbor. (Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

(Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Spring brings the first crocus bloom. Rockland, Maine. March 25, 2022. Photo by Maggie Trout.

Late winter scenes on Megunticook and Sugarloaf. (Photo by Roger Wickenden)

First Spring chives basking in the rays of a Zia sun. Rockland, Maine. March 29, 2022. (Photo by Maggie Trout)

A sure sign of Spring! (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

April 3, 2022, Rockland, Maine (Photo by Maggie Trout)

(Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Peaceful Harbor. (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

Alewives Net. (Photo Brenda Sullivan)

Rock Carin at Sandy Beach. (Photo by Carolyn Kanicki)

(Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Weeping cherry (Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

(Photo by Susan Kanellakis)

Happy May! (Photo by Deb Shepard)

Sunrise (Photo by Susan Kanellakis))

Late Autumn 2021 and COVID-19 pandemic continues to march across Maine, with numbers of infected rising again. The conversations in the community often include when and where friends and family might be getting their booster shots.

Walmart and Walgreen’s, the pharmacy at Pen Bay Medical Center, and the primary care physician offices are most mentioned. Masks are common in the grocery stores; outside, people have grown accustomed to maintaining substantial personal space, as they cram their masks into coat pockets.

And the pandemic galleries remain a constant. We had hoped last spring that the time had come to retire this collective project of chronicling a weird period in human history with photos, but we won’t because the pandemic rages on.

Just last week, Nov. 13, at the annual Maine Press Association Better Newspaper Contest, and in a first-ever win, it was PenBayPilot.com readers who brought home an award for Picture Story, for your submitted photographs to the Pilot’s Pandemic Galleries. It was an unorthodox contest submission, but we believed that our Pilot community photographers deserved recognition.

“I love this idea and engagement, and clearly so did your readers,” wrote the South Dakota Newspaper Association judges, who were taking on the task of reviewing and naming winners of Maine’s annual competition. “Well done. Not sure how to judge this in a competition of professional photogs, but if Maine had some sort of engagement or innovative category, this would be stronger.”

The first volume of pandemic photos initiated in March 2020, and sense then, you, the photographers, have steadily taken your cameras to the Midcoast, capturing how we perceive living through a deadly pandemic. Your photos have been remarkably expressive, and beautiful.

Almanac-By-Tree. November 21, 2021. Rockland, Maine. (Photo courtesy Maggie Trout)

This collection of submitted photos taken by residents and visitors to the state will join A Wellspring of Hope, Tipping toward Winter, Maine establishes new normal with a sense of grace and Maine weathers a pandemic, Maine springs through a pandemic, Summering on through uncharted times, the Leaves of Change, Finding our Footing, a Hopeful new year, and A Wellspring of Hope.

All these galleries have been built on the love people have for the Midcoast and the natural beauty of their state. The photographers are observant, creative and astute. They help capture our current days.

Generations from now, historians will be looking at your photos for glimpses of how humans coped during a pandemic.

Send your contributions to news@penbaypilot.com, and we will continue this team project! The Pilot thanks you.