Some of Sun Journal Photographer Russ Dillingham’s favorite photos from 2013
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- I “volunteer” to cover as many ski events as possible. It’s one of the reasons I love my job, despite the often bitter cold and standing around for hours. I can usually sneak a “fun run” or two in before or after the event. In the photo: Matt Crawford flies through the air over a jump at Sunday River during one of two qualifying sessions for the final’s of the 2013 Dumont Cup.
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- Working a snowstorm, I heard a call for a rollover and although it was far away from where I was, I had yet to get a good storm photo. It paid off, and I think the caption information was as much a factor to it winning the spot news category in this past year’s Maine Press Association photo contest as was the image itself. In the photo: Peter Karwowski of Brunswick tells Auburn firefighters how he was traveling down outer Minot Avenue in the right-hand lane, going 35 mph, when two cars sped past him, sending up sheets of snow and water that sprayed onto his windshield, temporarily blinding him. He veered into the snowbank and hit a telephone pole before flipping over. He crawled out on his own and refused medical help. “I’m pretty sure my nose is broken,” he said, before heading to a nearby restaurant for a drink and a steak while he figured out what to do next.
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- After a long day of work I was on my way to a friend’s house to watch a Bruins playoff game when an emergency call came in for a boat stuck at the top of Great Falls. I thought about turning off my scanner and ignoring it, for about a second. In the photo: Paul Duclos of Lewiston talks with Auburn firefighters on the shore of the Androscoggin River just above the railroad trestle over Great Falls after the motor on his boat died and it drifted downriver before getting hung up on the grates of the dam. His wife, Arlene, holds their dog, Reese, tight as they await rescue. Another couple was with them, and after their “moonlit cruise” turned into a nightmare, they were eventually pulled to safety.
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- Lewiston Fire Department Capt. Richard Cailler is first on the scene of a major fire on Pierce Street in Lewiston. A rash of fires devastated Lewiston’s downtown residential area this past summer. It led to many dramatic and compelling photos, but more importantly, the awareness of the dangers posed by unoccupied, easily accessible tenements and houses in the downtown, many filled with combustible materials. The city stepped up its efforts to address the problem, and landlords and neighbors came together to help.
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- Every Sunday for years I have challenged our readers to identify a mystery photo. More than 400 photos have been identified via email or voice mail. They are all recorded, and each week one of the entrants is randomly chosen to win a gift card. Many weeks I have several hundred entries, but some weeks very few, like for this photo taken in Hebron.
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- The full moon rises behind one of the steeples of the former St. Patrick’s Church in Lewiston in April. April’s full moon is also called a pink moon, not because it is pink, but, according to the Farmers Almanac, because of the appearance of the early flower wild ground phlox, also known as moss pink, in April.
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- Coming back from a football game in Norway, I swung by the Norway Skate Park to see if I could find a feature photo. Matt Miller of Hornell, N.Y., was flying through the bowl as a friend shot video for a project they were doing.
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- I have a police scanner at home, at work and in my car. I often respond to calls that never result in a photo, especially accidents. However, once in a while, persistence pays off. While this accident did not have any significant property damage or injuries, the circumstances around the accident and its aftermath, captured in the photo and caption, made it worth publishing. In the photo: Danielle Martin, left, reacts while telling bystanders about how she lost her brakes coming down Chestnut Street in Lewiston, where she lives. She ended up hitting the other vehicle, left, that was parked in the lot near Action Screen Printing and then continuing into the wall where Maine Heritage Weavers was previously located. Later, while talking to police and firefighters who responded, she noticed something leaking from under the car. After looking closely, she realized it was from a fish tank she had in the back seat that was now half empty. Blue, the betta fish she was “fish sitting” for her brother’s girlfriend, was flopping around on her car seat. After she scooped it up and put it back in the tank, on the ground at right, the fish began swimming around.
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- I have photographed dozens of launches during every Great Falls Balloon Festival — from the ground, air and water. This is one of my favorites. Jim Rodrigue salutes to the crowd gathered at Simard Payne Memorial Park in Lewiston where two balloons took flight on Thursday, the eve of the 2013 Great Falls Balloon Festival. Rodrigue made the one-man balloon, which he calls Jimmy Hoppa, over the winter. That evening, he hung around, tethered at the field, to give spectators a look at his newest “cloud hopper.”
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- Lewiston police officer Corey Jacques talks about a police vehicle with a young boy who was involved in a car accident at the corner of Highland Spring Road and Montello Street in Lewiston. Meanwhile, fire and medical personnel tend to the other occupants of the vehicle. Corey and another young occupant were buckled into child seats in the back seat of the SUV involved and were unhurt. Jacques and a United Ambulance staffer distracted the children until their father arrived on the scene. I thought showing this side of police work highlighted the caring nature of these professionals, who often get a bad rap.
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- I was dubbed “nature boy” by another colleague years ago and have lived up to that reputation with a barrage of wildlife and scenic photos throughout the four seasons. In the photo: A sweat bee collects pollen from a purple coneflower next to a walkway at Bates College in Lewiston this past summer.
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- Nearly every day of the year we cover a high school sporting event. While I have many dramatic action photos, the drama and emotion of the playoffs make for fantastic images. In the photo: Dirigo’s Travis Frost jumps onto the pile as the Cougars celebrate their 15-3 victory over Saint Dominic Academy during the Western Class “C” Baseball Championship game at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish.
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