Photographer Josh Howe has spent the last two years fulfilling a decade-long passion for photography by selling notecards featuring his work. His subjects include scenics, wildlife and rural life from around the southern and Midcoast Maine regions. He has filled over 200 orders.

The 2006 Boothbay Region High School graduate began taking an interest in photography in his early 20’s. “My aunt Nancy is a photographer in the family and I kind of took an interest in it that way. But I took a photography class in a group home in New Hampshire. That’s what did it … and now the notecards are a real hit.”

Howe suffered a brain injury in his teens and photography initially was a means of keeping busy. With him unable to work a regular job, the notecards have become more than a hobby, he said. They have given him a way to earn some income. “And it’s a way for me to get a creative release.”

Shooting on a Canon 2000D, Howe said every photo is unique and nothing gets touched up before going to the printer, so the shot has to be perfect. “If it's not a good image, I don't use it. I like a nice, raw, good looking image and if it doesn't look good, I delete it.”

The 4”x 6” photos are attached to 5”x 7” cardstock with corner pockets, so anyone who wants to keep the photo and set it into a frame could do it without having to work around the cardstock. View the images on Howe’s Facebook page, Photography by J. M. Howe. Orders can be made via email: photoguy1005@gmail.com

Though Howe now lives in Kennebunk, his family still lives in Boothbay Harbor which allows him to keep a connection to his hometown, an inspiration for much of his work. Most of his time is spent shooting photos, crafting notecards by order, and keeping displays full, from Cummings Market in Kennebunk to East Boothbay General Store.

“I just love photography and it's something I enjoy doing … and it’s been a learning experience.”