A photographer’s meditative journey through Maine's DownEast region

Maine has long beckoned seekers of all kinds, promising open space, placid waters, and forested coastlines. Visitors are first drawn to the state by the idea of an escape. What keeps them coming back, however, is connection—to nature, to others, and to themselves.

That’s certainly true for National Geographic photographer Pete Muller, who had a life-changing trip to Maine as a teenager. Recently, he reflected on that experience as he embarked on a journey through the state’s DownEast and Deer Isle regions.

“I can honestly say that I wouldn't be the person that I am today if it wasn't for experiences that I have had in the state of Maine,” Muller said. That first visit long ago was part of a program for at-risk youth. Back home in New Jersey, he had been getting into trouble, acting out emotions he didn’t understand. The simplicity of the Maine woods, combined with the leadership of the trip guide, led to a shift.

“There was a clarity that emerged,” recalled Muller, whose work has explored cultural ideas about masculinity and their influence on how men process—or don’t process—emotion. “I think that this blocked expression is the root of a lot of bad news. This place was the first place where I was able to gain some insight on that, and it really altered the course of my life.”

Muller went on to become an award-winning storyteller. As a reporter, editor, and photographer, he has covered conflict-affected regions such as South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Based part-time in Portland, he recently struck out on an itinerary across the southern part of the state that included kayaking, hiking, whale watching, and a communal farm-to-table dinner. Along the way, he brought the same keen interest in how people interact with their environment that has animated his other projects.

“What I find most compelling is learning from people,” he said, noting an “incredible spectrum” of capabilities across Mainers. “Everybody that lives this far north is affected by the rhythms of the natural world, whether they're actively engaged in it or not.”

Winding his way through DownEast, Muller started by witnessing a fog-cloaked sunrise— the first morning light to hit the continental United States—at the West Quoddy Head Light station, then kayaked on the clear, glassy waters along Cobscook Shores, a wildlife-rich park system. He met the family owners of Raye’s Mustard at their stone-ground mustard mill in Eastport. And boarded a whale-watching cruise at Easport Windjammers—spotting whales, of course, but so much more: porpoises, eagles, and tidal whirlpools were all part of the journey.

To the south, in the Blue Hill Peninsula region, Muller got a hands-on tour of a sustainable oyster farm, Deer Isle Oyster Company, where owner Abby Barrows is on a mission to remove the microplastics created by sea farming gear. Then it was time for dinner at Yellow Birch Farm, feasting on produce that had been harvested steps away and prepared by Chef La Mason, founder of catering service Fête.

The trip was, naturally, much different than the memorable one he took as a teenager. But at its heart, the experience of Maine remains constant for Muller.

“A place that offers this level of connection to the natural world has been incredibly clarifying for me,” he said. “It was that way when I was a younger person, and it's remained that way for me in my adult life.”