Mount Desert Island, Maine – August 20, 2023. Five creative MDI artists who collectively
refer to themselves as Photo Friends are excited to announce their September 9-30, 2023,
Northeast Harbor Library exhibition titled “Differing Perspectives of Mount Desert Island”.
The show is a captivating photographic journey showcasing the beauty, mystery, and
diversity of MDI, Acadia National Park and its communities. An exhibit reception will be
held on September 9, 2023 from 5-7 pm in the Mellon Room of the library, providing an
opportunity for the public to engage directly with the artists about their photographs.
The five photographers and exhibited images are:
- Dorothea Eiben, Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall.
Night follows day follows night follows day. Annual migrations of elvers, alewives and
loons follow the seasons. As do people. Time itself is the subject of her current work at
Somes Pond and around MDI. Her images have been described as embodying the Japanese
aesthetic of wabi-sabi. Her work jostles the memory, illuminating the exquisite nature of
impermanence. Dorothea is an award-winning photographer who has been captivated by
the beauty of our everyday environment for over 20 years. - David Manski, Inside the Offseason.
What happens to a small resort town when the tourists leave? David has been
photographing the offseason in Bar Harbor through the lens of closed businesses. There is
an eloquence to the silence at this time where quiet shadows, bright reflections, and strong
contrasts color the emptiness of downtown. David is the current President of the MDI
Photo Club and has exhibited his images at Portland’s Cove Street Arts Gallery, the Maine
Photography Show and the Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport. His photos have been
published in the MDIslander newspaper and Acadia magazine. - Steven Redgate, Finding the Abstract in Nature.
Nature is messy, chaotic. A healthy forest is a jumble of trees and plants, living and dead.
Streams are turbulent and constantly changing. The wind shuffles the pieces around. The
planet spins and the light is different in an instant. Then, at times, the chaos, turbulence,
and light come into phase and then there is more than just a jumble. There is something
that registers in your vision as harmonious. An order of some kind comes into view. Steven
is a contractor from Bar Harbor that carries a camera with him wherever he goes. - Jennifer Steen Booher, Beachingcombing and Ghosts of the Panthalassic Ocean.
Jennifer’s work explores the intersection of science and history, incorporating observations
and concerns about ecosystem dynamics and marine debris. The ‘Beachcombing’ series is a
set of still life photographs of things found along the shoreline, for which all the objects are
identified as specifically as possible – plants, animals, rocks and garbage – building a
portrait of the intertidal ecosystem. The ‘Panthalassic’ series is a meditation on the
omnipresent micro-fragments of plastic that infiltrate our bodies, using cyanotype
photograms of disposable plastic bags. Cyanotype is an early photographic process which
uses a chemical solution that is sensitive to UV light. When exposed to sunlight, material
coated with the solution changes color, printing an image in shades of blue and white.
Jennifer has been a Resident Artist with Acadia National Park since 2015 and Artist-in-
Residence with the Mount Desert Island Historical Society since 2018.
- Howie Motenko, Acadia Impressions.
A photographer’s response to Godai, the Japanese philosophy incorporating: earth, water,
fire, wind, and void. Wander with me, guided by Bates cairns, unveiling Godai impressions
during Acadia’s sedentary winters. Howie Motenko, former Acadia National Park Artist-in-
Resident, has been photographing Acadia for over ten years. Like Howie’s other long-term
projects: Painting Bridges, Painting Islands, and Acadia Moon Dance; Acadia Impressions is
a three-year body of work.
The “Differing Perspectives of Mount Desert Island” exhibit brings together distinct
photographic styles, techniques, and narratives to offer an inspiring and creative look at
the island’s contrasts of natural beauty, community character, and seasonal changes.
About “Photo Friends”
Photo Friends is an informal collective of five inquisitive and creative MDI photographers
who meet monthly to share and critique their images, discuss photos of other artists,
brainstorm photo story ideas, and otherwise catch up and hang out. Photography can be a
lonely craft, but together, Photo Friends serves as a supportive space of reflection and
inspiration for their artistic and intellectual photographic pursuits.
