Gregory got his start in journalism delivering his hometown newspaper, the Norwich Bulletin, as a teenager, reading the front page articles on dark winter mornings as he passed under streetlights. Greg worked as a photojournalist at a weekly newspaper group in Connecticut for three years before attending the University of Montana to study journalism and Spanish. He interned at the Portland Press Herald in the summer of 1995 and the Boston Globe the following year. He was hired at the Press Herald in 1997 and over the past 20 years, he has photographed throughout Maine, covered the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in New York City, twice embedded with Maine Army National Guard troops in Iraq, covered the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. In 2004, Rec was named Journalist of the Year with columnist Bill Nemitz by the Maine Press Association for their work in Iraq. After only ten years at the Press Herald, he won the Master Photographer award from the New England Society of Newspaper Editors, an award usually reserved for veteran photographers.
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PublishedDecember 26, 2023
2023 Photos of the Year: Maine’s asylum seekers
In recent years, thousands of asylum seekers, mostly from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola, have made their way to Maine, hearing that it’s a safe haven. From January to June, more than 1,600 arrived in Portland in need of help. The city found itself frequently overwhelmed, with little to no space available in its shelters as families, including many with small children, kept coming. Community groups, nonprofits and churches helped house and guide the newcomers. The city turned the gym in the Portland Expo into temporary housing from the spring into late summer. Our photographers spent months this year documenting the lives of new asylum seekers trying to make their way in an unfamiliar place and checking in on others who had been for years to see how their lives in Maine had turned out.
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PublishedDecember 26, 2023
2023 Photos of the Year
Beauty comes in many forms. A diver suspended in midair. A flock of pigeons rising in the snow. The stillness of a lobster boat and a man and dog on a paddleboard in calm ocean waters at sunset. Portland Press Herald photographers uncover unexpected beauty every day. They show us the profound beauty of connection. The tenderness of a loving husband and his wife, who is in hospice, celebrating their anniversary. The resilience of families who have traveled from a world away trying to make a new home in a strange land together. The collective grief of a community experiencing enormous loss after an act of previously unimaginable violence. It is a great privilege to photograph the people and stories of Maine. Here is some of our best work from 2023.
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PublishedDecember 26, 2023
2023 Photos of the Year: Maine in mourning
On the night of Oct. 25, minutes after Lewiston police began fielding calls about multiple shootings in the city, the newspapers of the Maine Trust for Local News mobilized as one newsroom to learn everything we could about what would turn out to be the deadliest shooting in Maine history. On that night, 18 people were killed and 13 injured and a manhunt was launched to find the shooter. Photographers from the Sun Journal, the Kennebec Journal and the Portland Press Herald fanned out across the area to document it all – the fear, the shock, the anger, the manhunt, the extraordinary outpouring of shared grief and pain. This is some of their best work from those dark days.
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PublishedOctober 15, 2023
Leave the crowds behind this fall at The Quiet Side of Acadia National Park
Press Herald photographer Gregory Rec and his wife, Jayme, encountered few people during hikes on both sides of Somes Sound.
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PublishedOctober 6, 2023
In photos: Looking back as summer draws to a close
Some people call it ‘local summer,’ the period after many summer tourists have gone but before foliage tourists arrive. The sun sets earlier and school has started, but the days are still warm – and often glorious. Portland Press Herald photographers capture its essence in this photo gallery.
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PublishedSeptember 17, 2023
One of Us: Youth choral director creates bonds through love of music
Maria Belva directs the Horizon Voices youth choirs for children ranging from kindergarten to high school seniors.
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PublishedAugust 20, 2023
Maine Army National Guard soldiers reunite 20 years after Iraq deployment
The former members of the 133rd Engineer Battalion were part of the largest call-up of any Maine military unit since World War II.
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PublishedAugust 6, 2023
In photos: A gloomy start, then glory in our photo gallery of summer 2023
June was gloomy and gray, with almost daily rain. July was warmer, with wet weekends and high humidity – not the perfect New England weather we dream about all year. But the sun showed its lovely face as August arrived, and the glorious days of summer began again.
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PublishedJuly 3, 2023
In photos: Families dig Ocean Park’s sand sculpture contest
The 37th annual competition inspires the creation of giant feet, a lobster piloting a chariot and a UFO.
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PublishedJune 19, 2023
In photos: See the action from Monday’s high school lacrosse state championships
Check out some of our favorite images from Monday’s high school Class A and C lacrosse state championships.
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