Old Orchard
The Old Orchard Series captures the vibrant, sensory experience of Old Orchard Beach, Maine a beloved slice of Americana where nostalgia, spectacle, and summertime leisure converge. Yay! Photographed entirely on a sun-drenched August afternoon, these images explore a space saturated with color, movement, and texture.
Old Orchard Beach offers a tableau of the American seaside tradition: crowded boardwalks, glowing signage, vintage amusements, and the joyful chaos of beachgoers. Within this sensory overload lies a visual poetry sometimes garish and beautiful. I’m drawn to these contrasts, and to the enduring charm of spaces that celebrate play and togetherness. It was the perfect summer day at the beach amusement park.
Through this series, I aim to present an exuberant portrait of this place, one that honors both its surface allure and its deeper emotional resonance. These photographs invite viewers to pause amid the noise, to see beauty in the saturated tones and fleeting moments of communal joy. The Old Orchard Series is both a celebration and a document: of summer, of spectacle, and of that old school American pastime. And the great state of Maine. - Steven J. Duede