I have a long history as a photographer, starting in my twenties with large format view cameras, publishing a book of black and white portraits of Newfoundlanders, studying under Ansel Adams at his Yosemite workshops, and with Aaron Siskind and Harry Callahan at the Rhode Island School of Design. Now, my cameras and equipment are all the latest digital models, but I still rely on my experience and a well trained eye for capturing the optimal moment. Weddings are high key - they have a way of passing quickly - almost in a blur of emotion, ceremony, and celebration. I love to photograph weddings, to stop time, to capture with my camera the discrete moments which make up the whole and which might otherwise be lost over time.
BrightWorks is a friendly and accommodating wedding photography team based in Midcoast Maine. We are family oriented; I work with my daughter and her husband on weddings large and small. In my free time, I enjoy flower gardening, hiking with my wife and our dog on island trails, and sailing the Maine coast with friends and family. I also volunteer as an EMT with my local Fire and Rescue service.
Rebecca is a documentary film producer/researcher with over a decade of experience contributing to national PBS broadcasts and independent films. She enjoys the parallels between film production and seamless, joyful event photography. Both require an eye for detail and a real interest in people’s stories. She and Gabe live a few miles from Steve in the town of South Thomaston, Maine.
Gabe is an architect, designing sustainable and energy efficient buildings for residential and commercial clients. He has been photographing since he was a child, when he would help his father as they developed and printed images in their basement darkroom. He loves the energy and happiness of weddings, and helping the BrightWorks team capture the day smoothly.
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"Stephen of BrightWorks Photography is a complete gem. He not only spent untold time getting to know the couple and the venue, he consulted on location and orientation of the wedding arch in order to take maximum advantage of the beautiful afternoon light. He was also a very calming presence on a hectic day. The entire family would have loved him without ever seeing a single photograph of the wedding, but when we did see them, we were blown away!"
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2 / 7
"We are so thrilled we chose to work with you and absolutely love the story the photos share. Many of our conversations leading up to the big day helped us to lay out how it would all go. Your insight and organization helped us approach the day with ease. You gave us general pieces of advice that we took to heart and we can see the results in the photos."
2 / 7
3 / 7
"When we received the photos, we really felt they captured the entire day and night with such elegance. The photos were stunning! Steve worked with us to further edit the photos we chose to keep for our album, tweaking little things, a stray hair from the wind. We highly recommend BrightWorks Photography if you are looking for someone who is very experienced, extremely professional and a joy to work with."
3 / 7
4 / 7
"When we took our engagement photos with you, we both realized immediately that you cared just as we did about our special day. At our wedding, you seamlessly fit in, without ever being obtrusive, and were able to beautifully capture the feel of our day. Thank you again for giving us stunning and poignant images that will remind us of our vows and our love for the rest of our lives."
4 / 7
5 / 7
"Steve and his daughter did an outstanding job photographing my daughter's wedding in Kennebunkport. They were everywhere without being intrusive and captured the most beautiful images throughout the day. Steve's attention to detail from the planning stages to post wedding pictures was amazing. He is a perfectionist in his work and his pictures show it. I can't recommend him highly enough and would give him 10 stars if I could. He's that good"
5 / 7
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"Thanks so much for all your superhuman efforts! You really made M&T very happy. You should have seen them looking at their wedding album last night!"
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7 / 7
"It was a beautiful day! S&A are very happy with everything. Thanks so much for the role you played. You were amazing! I was especially pleased to see you taking photos of them back in the Chuppah in front of the sunset. Those will be stunning."
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