The featured picture of this piece is an uncommon image that showcases a famous coastal New England town. For a summer destination known famously for its clam chowder (or “chowdah” as affectionately articulated by the locals) along with the seaside inns and summer rentals, a mailbox is the last thing that comes to mind. Yet, when I was admiring the lush greenery of a sea salt marsh perfectly complemented by the backdrop of distant coastal structures, I found myself captivated by an aged black metal box on a weathered wooden post with a fastened, rusty metal support, ideally situated in the foreground of a typical drive-by sight in this northeastern state.
On a recent Saturday evening (mid-August), during the dinner hour, my family and I arrived at Billy’s Coastal Chowder House. We elected to wait outside the Wells, Maine eatery, near its parking lot, with other standby patrons waiting to be seated. While my hungry kids (or perhaps hangry is a better description of their mood) were understandably frustrated about a long wait for a table, dependent on the hope that our personally-assigned, clunky, square pager would vibrate, I was taking in the scenery.
Across the street from the restaurant was an imagery that left me acquiescent to the wait-time interlude. I attempted to call attention to what I saw as an awe-inspiring visual opposite the front side of Billy’s. However, what I often strive to make a collective experience with my kids sometimes becomes a solo pursuit. This moment at the restaurant was no different. The hope of seeing flashing lights from the pager was the only priority for my three boys. And that was okay with me, as I remained captivated by a colorfully vibrant vegetation waterscape.
The waterscape consisted of a picturesque view of a large open marsh with the ideal lighting of an evening sky about to enter twilight. My familiar propensity to capture scenic images of landscapes and waterscapes that I always hoped would be equally memorable as a photo was set in motion. But I needed to be quick. I didn’t want my hangry boys to have a flashing pager and be any hangrier than they were from seeing their dad opting for nature snapshots over an appetizing bowl of chowdah.
I crossed Mills Road, one of Wells’ known thoroughfares that many locals and out-of-town visitors use to travel to Wells Beach. I didn’t waste time setting my mobile phone to camera mode to take a panoramic sweep of photos. I panned from left to right and then right to left to ensure that I was capturing images from slightly different perspectives. It’s a practice I’ve used for quite some time to compile enough images to review afterward. It has always been my goal to have an abundance of pictures to find that perfect angle with the perfect lighting to capture what I hope others would perceive as a picture-perfect shot.
When possible, I leave out the images of powerline poles, the cables they support, any other miscellaneous items in the periphery in favor of an image absent of visual distractions. However, the weathered black mailbox that belonged to the restaurant and was a few feet away from me seemed to have a fitting presence for the images I captured. I already had several pictures without any man-made distractions in their foreground. Yet, including a solitary metal box created a photo still that would seem empty without it.
This long-standing postal receptacle of a reputable food establishment calls attention to the immediate surroundings, having a story to tell that is only left as a mysterious consideration for the observer admiring the landscape and distant imagery. It also seems to reflect the tale of a metal box being the center of attention with a scenic surrounding that beautifies its existence. Others may see a different story in this picture. Whatever narrative it creates in the mind of any observer, I’m pleased that I made the mailbox of a well-known coastal restaurant the star attraction.
P.S. It would be essential to note that besides Billy’s mailbox, Maine has much to admire, including its coastline and lighthouses. If you’re interested in learning more about some of Maine’s breathtaking sites, here are three worthwhile pieces on the many beautiful places in the Pine Tree State:
- 7 Must-Visit Lighthouses in Maine (with Photos & Videos)
- The Road Trip Diaries: Lighthouses in Maine
- Maine Adventures.
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