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Kaiya Coffey, 4, plays in the surf while her sister Hazel, 7, runs on the beach at Fort Williams Park on July 9. The family, from Mansfield, Connecticut, makes an annual trip to Maine for a summer vacation. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
Kayakers paddle off shore near East End Beach in Portland on July 3. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
Arlo Dootz, 5, kisses his chicken named Ida-Mae at his home in Falmouth on July 6. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
Charlie Rixon, 16, of Huntington, Vermont, gets ready to hop on a skimboard along the shore at Camp Ellis in Saco on June 23. He and his family were vacationing at Camp Ellis. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
A male house finch sings from its perch atop construction fencing at the Congress Square redesign project on Free Street. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
A couple sleeps in beach chairs near the pier at Old Orchard Beach on July 11. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
Dylan Vatsinaris of Windham casts while fly fishing at the Dunstan River in Scarborough shortly after a heavy rain shower on June 28. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
People light sparklers while waiting for the fireworks at the Eastern Promenade on July 4.
Fireworks go off at the Eastern Promenade in Portland on the Fourth of July. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
Whit Miller, 9, holds up a sign letting cars know he and his friend, Calvin Dootz, 9, are selling fruit punch for $1 outside of Dootz’s Falmouth home. It was not their first business venture together. The two said they usually sell lemonade. “We had fruit punch at home, though,” Dootz said with a shrug. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
A boy floats on an inflatable kayak in the Spurwink River in Scarborough on July 9. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
Juniper Nelson, 11 months old, holds on to her mother, Ruby, while stomping through the ravine at Deering Oaks Park. The pair were at the park to help sell vegetables at the farmer’s market and took a break to cool off. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
Andrew Maley, left, and his father, George Maley, both of Windham fish off the docks at Camp Ellis in Saco shortly before sunset on June 23. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
Annabella Abdalkarim, 7, of Westbrook is all smiles as she attempts to make bubbles using a bubble wand during an Eid al-Adha celebration at the Westbrook Community Center July 10. The New England Arab American Organization hosted the event. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
The busy beach seen from the arcade room on the pier in Old Orchard Beach on July 11. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
Jody Foley braids 8-year-old Catherine Warren’s hair in Foley’s shop on the pier in Old Orchard Beach. Foley, who lives in Wells, has been braiding hair there every summer for 25 years. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
William Fleitz, 17, of Prince Frederick, Maryland, climbs out on the rocks at Kettle Cove on the first day of summer, June 21. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
Twins Ben, left, and Jake Haubner, 14, look for crabs in a low tide pool at Hermit Island Campground on July 14. The boys’ father, Ryan Haubner, said their family has been coming to the campground from their home in Massachusetts every summer on the same week for at least 8 years. “This is always the first place they come, since they were little,” he said. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
Aaron Root grew up gardening with his parents and treats his North Street garden in Portland as an art project. Halina Bennet/Staff Writer
Folks overlook the busy beach from the pier in Old Orchard Beach in July. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
In this self portrait, photographer Gregory Rec shines light from a headlamp as the Milky Way lights up the night sky above Mooselookmeguntic Lake in Richardsontown Township early on July 10. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Derek grew up in New York, while spending part of his summers in Maine, where he developed an appreciation for its wild landscape and natural beauty. Moving from a metropolitan area to the wide-open spaces...

Brianna was born and raised in Nebraska and became interested in photography in elementary school when her art teacher gave her a camera to document their fifth grade class. After college she interned...

Gregory got his start in journalism delivering his hometown newspaper, the Norwich Bulletin, as a teenager, reading the front page articles on dark winter mornings as he passed under streetlights. Greg...

Shawn has been a staff photographer at the Portland Press Herald since 2002. He previously worked for the Journal Tribune in Biddeford from 1993 to 2002, and as an intern with the Miami Herald in 1992. During...

Ben McCanna has been a staff photographer and occasional writer at the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram since 2015 and has been working for newspapers since 2010. Ben studied creative writing...

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