BRIDGTON — Gallery 302 welcomes a new photographer to its cooperative of over 40 artists. Tom McLaughlin taught history in Fryeburg for many years and still publishes a weekly column in Maine and New Hampshire newspapers about whatever is on his mind.

McLaughlin says, “There’s beauty almost everywhere and my camera sometimes lets me take away part of it. If a feeling comes with what I’m seeing, I put the camera to my face and shoot. This has occupied me ever since I found a red, plastic box camera with my name on it under the Christmas tree when I was 10. In 1971, my lovely wife gave me a much better one we couldn’t really afford. With that I learned to capture more of the loveliness around me. My photos were for myself, my family and friends until a local hospital wanted to buy some. Now they hang in health care facilities around Maine. My most treasured images are of people I love and not for sale. Others of Maine’s lakes, mountain, and coastline occasionally kindle some of the feeling I had in others who see them.”

McLaughlin and his wife now split their time between Lovell and South Portland and like to travel when they can, especially to Ireland and the Mediterranean.

Gallery 302, 112 Main St., is open for business and following Maine’s CDC guidelines. Masks are required. For more information, call 207-647-2787, see gallery302.com or visit the gallery’s facebook page.