“Quiet and thoughtful” is how I’d describe my first meeting with 15-year-old Caleb Carr, a relatively new Camden Hills Regional High School student to the Midcoast from Massachusetts.

Turns out that’s an apt description for his photography, as well.

As we chatted in the school library, I got to know him a little bit and what he’s drawn to in life, and behind the lens.

“When I was in Massachusetts, I focused on sports and aviation, which is what I was interested in,” he said.

Hockey and football are his two favorite sports and he brings his Panasonic Lumix fz300 camera to capture the action in the games. But, once he and his family moved to Camden, Caleb started to really look around—and found that capturing images in nature was just as rewarding.

 He got the camera for his birthday but admits he didn’t know much about photography at the time. 

“I wasn’t super serious about it at first, but then I attended some Zoom meetings on photography and this guy who taught it worked for major magazines and taught us how to use the camera better,” he said.

This sparked an interest in knowing the camera’s settings and how he could master them. He began teaching himself how to take quality photos through YouTube tutorials and using the online photo editor, Adobe Lightroom.

Simultaneously, he began to explore the Midcoast from all angles and paid special attention to objects and scenes that weren’t obvious to everyone else.

“I have more nature photos now because I’m surrounded by it here,” he said. “I like natural photography and don’t alter too much of it except to preserve the colors. I find these little spots and try to capture images that aren’t necessarily seen by everybody.”

The following are a few of his photographs and what was the inspiration behind capturing the image.

Island

While at Hosmer Pond this past summer, I was able to capture the sunset across the water. It created an amazing scene with the raft and the quiet pond. I did some color grading to make the light off the raft billets pop.

 

Lobster boat

 

While in Camden, I noticed The Gladys Wink tied up at the dock. They were unloading the boat and it appeared that no one noticed that compared to the other things happening in the harbor.

 

Hockey

 

After being beaten by Sandwich the previous season, Norwell was back for revenge in the MIAA D4 final. Timmy Ward, the star player of Norwell crosses over in front of the bench preparing to receive a pass.

 

Rockport Harbor

At 15, not many people know what they want to do, but Caleb is pretty serious about pursuing photography. Knowing that he loves to shoot sports, we offered him a guest column to cover the high school sports games, such as in this recent story. A chance mention of his photography on Midcoast Message Board led to this story and to a guest column—one never knows the opportunities that await, until you manifest your intent. For Caleb’s thoughtful approach to nature, beauty, and hidden gems, his photography career is only beginning.

Hail To The Rad Kids is an ongoing feature highlighting teens in the Midcoast with special talent. 

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com