For 14 years now, when we celebrate spring we know the Maine Photography Show (MPS) is just around the corner. Since the first MPS in 2005, founded by the late Jim Taliana, full- and part-time residents and shutterbugs around the state take center stage. Just as Taliana intended.

Opening April 6 at Boothbay Region Art Foundation (BRAF), the 2019 show features 105 images selected by juror Ron Rosenstock. whittled down from 777 total submissions. Photo categories are color, B&W, Student, and a special category selected each year; in 2019 that category is “Infrared.” Hmmm ... another interesting choice. Last year the special category was “Remnants,” and it was awesome.

The First Place image in the Remnants category, “Wise and Silent,” was taken by Doug Van Kampen — a gorgeous photo of a forgotten train track winding its way through a wood. Fallen leaves of red and gold are strewn on the ground and about the tracks. It is both a magical and a bittersweet image. Said last year’s juror Peter Ralston, “Wonderfully evocative, this image powerfully leads one to consider what was once here in a long gone, more vital period. Nature abhors a vacuum and is clearly wasting no time filling this man-made void, which, in turn, leads one to consider how fleeting our own time here is. Beautiful soft light and feeling to the piece.”

And who could forget last year’s pick for Best In Show, the otherworldly image entitled “Falling Leaves” by Mark Stern of Portland. I know I loved it!  Ralston described it as  “… a haunting and evocative image,” which displayed “ ...  technical perfection, but more than that the core elements — the leaves and the perfectly off-center statue — powerfully evoke and meld the passage of time, the inexorable march toward a final destiny in both the natural and human worlds.”

Rosenstock, a Camden area-based photographer and author, corresponded with Ansel Adams (and Rosenstock’s scenics have a “pow” impact similar to Adams); he worked in study groups from 1967 to 1973 with his teacher Minor White, and was a private student of Paul Caponigro.  His work has been in more than 100 shows worldwide and is featured in numerous permanent exhibitions including the Fogg Art Museum, the Worcester Art Museum, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the International Center of Photography. For more on this photographer, check him out at  www.ronrosenstock.com. Can’t wait to hear what Mr. Rosenstock has to say about this year’s picks.

Be sure to check out the MPS on Facebook - and you can see all of the 2019 entrees on the MPS website: https://mainephotographyshow.org

Hours at the Boothbay Region Art Foundation Gallery, 1 Townsend Ave., Boothbay Harbor, are Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. You’ve gotta see the photographs in person and find out which photographers were awarded prizes — with Best In Show honors accompanied by a $500 check! A total of 18 awards are presented: First, Second and Third Place in all categories and Honorable Mentions in all categories. 

The show runs through Friday, May 3.