Reader Gallery 13 continues a tradition of sharing photos that are taken by readers — locals and visitors who take joy in the always soul-nourishing landscape of Maine.

The first volume of photos was initiated in March 2020 at the onset of the pandemic, when the world shut down. We worked through that time, and since then, you, the photographers, have steadily discovered new perspectives with your cameras.

The first 10 galleries in this series of contributor images captured how we perceived living through a deadly pandemic. As COVID 19 faded (as a major public health threat, although 4.5 years later, its strains still circulate, and few are immune to ‘catching COVID’) the galleries remained a fixture on PenBayPilot.com, with photos no less remarkably expressive, and beautiful.

 In 2022, at the October Maine Press Association Better Newspaper Contest – and in a first-ever  win — it was PenBayPilot.com readers who brought home an award for best Picture Story. Your submitted photographs to the Pilot’s Pandemic Galleries captivated the judges. It was an unorthodox contest submission, but we believed that our Pilot community photographers deserved recognition. 

“I love this idea and engagement, and clearly so did your readers,” wrote the South Dakota Newspaper Association judges, who were taking on the task of reviewing and naming winners of Maine’s annual competition. “Well done. Not sure how to judge this in a competition of professional photogs, but if Maine had some sort of engagement or innovative category, this would be stronger.”