Take a look at the three historic fishing shacks that stood for over a century on Fisherman’s Point at Willard Beach and were washed away in Saturday’s storm.

Photos by staff photographer Brianna Soukup

A winter storm that started Tuesday night and ended late Wednesday morning carried heavy rains and high winds, resulting in widespread flooding and power outages across the state.

Homelessness in Portland grew to new dimensions in 2023. Even as a new city shelter opened in Riverton, homeless encampments emerged throughout the city – in parks, on trails and even on a state-owned parking lot. Local agencies struggled with how to respond, and the issue was central in Portland’s mayoral election. Throughout the year, Press Herald photographers documented people living outside, learning their names and their stories and offering readers an unblinking look at one of society’s most complex challenges.

Beauty comes in many forms. A diver suspended in midair. A flock of pigeons rising in the snow. The stillness of a lobster boat and a man and dog on a paddleboard in calm ocean waters at sunset. Portland Press Herald photographers uncover unexpected beauty every day. They show us the profound beauty of connection. The tenderness of a loving husband and his wife, who is in hospice, celebrating their anniversary. The resilience of families who have traveled from a world away trying to make a new home in a strange land together. The collective grief of a community experiencing enormous loss after an act of previously unimaginable violence. It is a great privilege to photograph the people and stories of Maine. Here is some of our best work from 2023.

On the night of Oct. 25, minutes after Lewiston police began fielding calls about multiple shootings in the city, the newspapers of the Maine Trust for Local News mobilized as one newsroom to learn everything we could about what would turn out to be the deadliest shooting in Maine history. On that night, 18 people were killed and 13 injured and a manhunt was launched to find the shooter. Photographers from the Sun Journal, the Kennebec Journal and the Portland Press Herald fanned out across the area to document it all – the fear, the shock, the anger, the manhunt, the extraordinary outpouring of shared grief and pain. This is some of their best work from those dark days.