review by ian marquis

Look at enough books of Maine photography, and you start to recognize familiar elements in all of them.  There are more landmarks, more vantage points, than can possibly be counted; yet time and time again, we return to the familiar, the well known.  When I came across Portrait of a Maine Island, I was prepared for this.  The island, as you might have guessed, is Mount Desert Island, and there is certainly no shortage of photographs of it. 

 

But that is where Sarah Butler surprised me.  You see, Portrait of a Maine Island is about people, and that I didn’t expect.  Though there are scenic shots included for context, the bulk of this photo book consists of intimate, personal photographs of MDI residents - in their homes, working in their gardens, and exploring the island.  The comfortable clutter, the reality we are shown, is so far removed from the familiar manicured and sculpted publicity shots that it feels like a breath of fresh air.  Many of the photographs are straightforward-the people are the focus, and they are presented without embellishment.

 

I challenge you to flip through Portrait of a Maine Island without finding at least one (and likely many more) photograph that makes you pause, if only for a moment, to wonder about the story behind the subject.  Butler has given us a glimpse of these stories, and the result is truly captivating.