HOULTON, Maine — Seven years ago, Christopher Mills began capturing some of the most entrancing images of Aroostook County and the rest of the state.
The self-taught photographer and Houlton resident has followed weather reports to chase full moons and star patterns across the state, captured arresting images of the fall foliage and iconic places in The County, and snapped shots of the waters and wild animals around Acadia National Park.
After having his images printed in magazines in Maine and across the nation, Mills has created another calendar of his photographs to share with the public.
Mills, the owner of Christopher A. Mills Photography, said on Monday that the 2019 calendars, which were printed at The Aroostook Print Shop in Houlton, are currently on sale at Country North Gifts in Houlton. An image of the Gateway Crossing bridge in Houlton is on the cover. The calendars also are on sale on the website Lulu for $22.99.
“I am very excited about it, because I think that people will love the images,” he said. “I tried to select my best pictures and a lot of the images are from right here in Houlton and The County.”
Mills got into photography right after the birth of his daughter seven years ago. He said that after taking some of her baby pictures, he decided that it “was time to learn a bit more about photography.”
“I have always taken pictures whenever I am out and around,” he said. “But all that I have ever really owned are point-and-shoot cameras. I never really got what I was looking for out of those cameras. I wanted better pictures of my daughter, so I decided it was time to learn more about how to get it right.”
Mills said he turned to Google instructions and YouTube videos to get him started and began taking pictures of sunrises and sunsets.
“I posted them online and it surprised me a bit how quickly it took off,” he said. “I didn’t know that people would like my pictures that much. I take photos in Aroostook and Washington counties, mainly, but I take pictures anywhere I go. I love taking pictures in Bar Harbor and I try to get around there at night to get shots of the Milky Way. It is also nice to go down there in the fall to get foliage photos.”
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- This image of the Gateway Crossing bridge in Houlton is actually two photos blended together by photographer Chris Mills of Christopher A. Mills Photography. One photo of the bridge taken with a wide angle lens was combined with another extended exposure of the sky taken on a tripod. The image is included in his 2019 calendar. (Courtesy of Christopher A. Mills)
Some of the photos taken in The County include the waterfall at Cary’s Mills, Houlton’s Gateway Crossing Bridge, the fireworks celebration at Midnight Madness in Houlton, and a collapsed, vine covered barn in Monticello.
Sometimes, he’ll blend a couple of photos together to create the image that viewers see. The walking bridge on the calendar, for instance, was actually two photos blended together — one of the bridge taken with a wide angle lens and another extended exposure of the sky taken on a tripod.
Mills said that his Facebook page has become quite popular and he is surprised by the number of visitors who have ties to The County.
“Some of my photos have reached 28,000 to 30,000 people,” he said.
He had a photo he took of the Bubbles in Acadia National Park published in Outdoor Photographer Magazine’s July National Park edition. He also wrote an essay about the photo was published in the Acadia National Park Magazine. Other photos also have been published in Our Maine Street’s Aroostook magazine.
He noted that a barn he photographed and shared was standing just off the Fletcher Road in Monticello, and after he posted the picture, he was surprised by one of the responses.
“The Milky Way was lined right up behind the barn and with the vines on the barn, it looked really intriguing,” he said. “I got a message from a woman in Connecticut who asked me if it was off the Fletcher Road. She was in her 50’s or 60’s and told me that her grandfather built the barn. She has memories of being around there when she was a kid. It brought back happy memories for her.”
Mills said that his photography is just a hobby now, but someday he hopes that it will lead to full-time work.
“It would be great to do it full-time, but I wouldn’t want to be so overwhelmed that it wouldn’t be fun anymore,” he said. “But yeah, maybe someday doing it full-time would be great.”
Mills’ photography can be viewed by accessing his Facebook page or visiting his website.
