‘Retro Roadtrip: Winter in Maine (and a bit of New Hampshire)’ is a new look at some familiar places. The book, by photographer Josh Hrehovcik, has just recently been published. Steve Hrehovcik Photo
KENNEBUNK – Josh Hrehovcik had been snapping photos for a while, though rather haphazardly, as he put it. About three years ago, he said, he started taking photography more seriously.
He’s not alone. Others saw his work, and one of them, Geraldine Aikman, a Kennebunk artist, illustrator, photographer and graphic designer, saw possibilities – lots of them.
“She said I want to do a book of your photographs,” Hrehovcik, 55, said in a recent interview.
“I said first, “you’re kidding,” and then I said “OK,” he recalled.
Now, six months after his first book, “Retro Roadtrip: Maine: Kittery to Portland” was published, “Retro Roadtrip, Winter in Maine (and a bit of New Hampshire)” is out, and is available locally as well as online.
The cover sports a shot of the Cape Porpoise lobster trap tree, its red bows brightening the arrangement of wooden traps and green wreathes, with gleaming white snow adding a frosting of sorts. The American flag flies high above it.
There are many other scenes, shot in locales familiar to residents, and an inspiration perhaps, to those who want to visit, but haven’t, or who are longing to return.
Kennebunk photographer Josh Hrehovcik has published his second book, called ‘Retro Roadtrip: Winter in Maine (and a bit of New Hampshire). Steve Hrehovcik Photo
Photographs of a well-loved barn, or rows of skiffs nosed into a dock are shot from Hrehovcik’s unique perspective.
“Josh has a knack for taking everyday things and familiar places and making them shine,” said Aikman. “This collection of photos may make you see winter in southern Maine (and a bit of New Hampshire) in a different light. It also may encourage you to get out there after the first snowfall and take some pictures of your own.”
The 70-page, 8-1/2” x 11” soft cover book features full color original views of winter in southern Maine and New Hampshire.
Hrehovcik said he initially began posting his photos on Instagram – his account is @retroroadtripper65 – to entice his cousins in New Jersey to pay a visit. And according to his website, retroroadtripper.com, he’s also in a contest to get more Instagram followers than his brother – and is losing.
He was drawn to photography early, and was a cinema major briefly after high school.
His website sums up his books this way:
“Take a colorful journey to some of the most wonderful places on the coast of the great state of Maine through the eyes of photographer Joshua Hrehovcik, The Retro Roadtripper. Part travel guide, part photo album, “Retro Roadtrip: Maine” visits some of the best-known vacation spots in the Pine Tree State as well as uncovers hidden gems. ”
The website also bears the slogan “to mildly go where lots of people have gone before.”
The familiar spots have gems not always seen or appreciated, as folks go about their daily lives, he noted. Through photography, Hrehocvik is seeing and presenting home in a different way.
“We live in a very special place and because I grew up here, I didn’t realize it until a while ago,” he said. “I always take my camera with me so, on every trip, I keep my eye open for the next photo opportunity.”
His books, at $24, are available at the Brick Store Museum, Morph Gallery and Emporium, and Mail-It Unlimited in Kennebunk and at The Wright Gallery in Cape Porpoise, and on Amazon. Individual prints are available on his website.
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