By land, sea, and air, Robert Mitchell has been capturing moments of celebration, community, and nature round these parts – and beyond - since the mid-to-late 1970s.

Mitchell's seemingly innate ability to capture the essence of a subject is his true gift. For 15 years his calendar has made it possible for visitors to have a bit of the Boothbay region with them back home. For locals, it’s a treat to have 12 Mitchell pics of beloved places or scenes displayed in our homes each year.

For 2015, Mitchell is offering a boxed set of winter-themed blank cards — Around Boothbay Harbor Winter Notecards — and they are hot off the press.

He calls them notecards, but they would also make gorgeous holiday greeting cards for those who prefer to write their own messages.

It's been a long time since Mitchell and his wife, Susan (Endicott), have offered notecards – 30 years or so ago it was a set of black and white notecards, images from Mitchell's collection of photos from his “Winter” book.

“Not too many of those around now — and if there are,” Mitchell said laughing, “they're probably yellowed and cracking!”

Over the years since then, people who regularly order his calendars have asked what it's like here when Old Man Winter sets the snow to flying and the chill factor has us reaching for our down coats. But how does a photographer of some 40 odd years decide what images to use?

“Susan and I went through all 15 years of the Around Boothbay Harbor calendars looking for photographs that had gotten the strongest reaction from folks,” Mitchell said. “Then we started putting images together to see which ones worked together best.”

The subjects in these gorgeous winter shots, unlike those featured decades ago, are in crisp, full color. The subjects are also favorites of visitors and locals – lighthouses, critters, the sea, boats and classic Maine/rural architecture.

There's the “Snowy Owl on Fisherman's Island,” a dory “Iced In” filled with a corked seining line, a southeast view of “Hendricks Head Light,” crashing “Waves at Ocean Point,” “Ram Island Light” from a northerly perspective, “Snow gulls,” depicting gulls sitting on pilings while snowflakes fall, and “Barn Flurries,” a classic red barn showcased in a blanket of white; a classic “Small Island Boathouse,” adorned with colorful buoys and dories at rest in the snow;

Mitchell said he and Susan know this venture is a bit risky.

“This is kind of counter to the flow of things,” he said. “People aren't handwriting notes anymore; they're emailing, texting, using Facebook … but you never know.”

The 5” x 7” cards are being sold in sets of eight for $14.95 (plus shipping and handling when applicable) and are available at www.mitchellphoto.com, Sherman's Book & Stationery, and other locations around the region.