Photographer Robert Mitchell of Southport has done it again. In this seventeenth edition of his "Around Boothbay Harbor" calendar, he's surpassed himself. The photos are stunning and evoke each season. They recall favorite places or secluded spots yet to be discovered. Sometimes, even when the location is familiar, it’s a mystery where Mitchell stood, or floated, when he took the shot. 

As in past years, Mitchell devotes a page to an update on his family, and there’s plenty of news about the work they’ve done and the places they’ve been. If you don’t already know the family, after reading Mitchell’s personal letter, you’ll feel that you do.

This year’s letter includes something else, though — more details on the promise of past years that “a portion of the proceeds from calendar sales will be set aside for the young people of our peninsula to enjoy Maine.” Mitchell tells us that the family supports Teens to Trails, an organization set up in memory of and to honor a young girl who attended school with his daughters, Megan and Morgan. To learn more, visit www.teenstotrails.org.

The full-size calendar has ample room for notes and other useful features. What sets it apart are the photos that offer an insider’s tour “Around Boothbay Harbor.” Here’s a preview.

If we’re as industrious as the lobsterman whose red boat is churning up the frigid waters of Townsend Gut in January’s photo, we’re in for a successful year. Even covered in snow, the houses and buildings pictured will be familiar to anyone who regularly crosses from Boothbay Harbor to Southport.

February’s image is an iconic, and painterly, view of Hendricks Head Light on Southport. The shapes and shadows are striking in their abstract simplicity. The March photo defies the eye. Where do the silhouetted pilings end and their reflections begin? A loon neatly sets off the Capitol Island view. April brings us from stark simplicity to the brilliant colors of a Maine sunset reflected in the old glass panes of a shingle-clad wall. Spring has arrived.

Is it fair to have a favorite? If so, let it be the May close-up of a golden-yellow lobster pot​ ​ bobbing on a mirror-smooth harbor. Interrupting the blue of reflected sky are wavelets showing distorted images of...what? Boats? Buildings? ​

June's photo shows an equally calm West Boothbay Harbor — a long view with Blake's boatshed and other recognizable buildings in the background. ​However, the photo is also a portrait of a bevy of lovely sailboats basking in late-day sun. 

Burnt Island Light has never looked more crisply white than in the July shot of the quintessential Maine lighthouse perched on the island's massive, bleached ledge. Looking at the blue sky nearly covered fair-weather cumulus clouds, you can almost feel the summer breeze. This is also the cover photo.

A fleet of sailboats scuds across the August image, white sails glistening against a backdrop of Boothbay Harbor's west side. The wooded landscape is dominated by Our Lady Queen of Peace, and the church is as bright and white as the sails.

Rarely does an image from outside the Boothbay region make it into Mitchell's calendars, but for September he chose a photo he took on Monhegan Island. It's a legitimate choice since a ferry to the island leaves from downtown Boothbay Harbor. Besides, how could he resist painting a photographic portrait of this rambling cape covered in bright, rust-red shingles. In the foreground is a disused pile of lobster traps, while in the distance, across the narrow channel, is legendary Manana Island. 

There's no mistaking the season portrayed in October’s photo, and the caption tells us we're seeing Christmas Cove on Southport. Trees burnished to red, orange, and gold are reflected in the water of the cove. The dock pictured already has its ramp up for the winter. 

November's chill-inducing image of Cuckolds Light floating on a wind-freshened sea and overhung with gray clouds conjures up the beginning of winter. Even the sun trying to break through distant clouds can't warm up this seascape. 

December's photo takes us squarely into early winter. Snow covers the roof and land surrounding one of McKown Point's most distinctive homes. Docks are neatly winterized, and the water is a steel gray but without the chunks of ice that will appear later.

By then, we’ll have the 2019 calendar and can see how Mitchell intends to lead us into yet another year through his remarkable photos. “Around Boothbay Harbor” is available at retail locations throughout the region, on www.mitchellphoto.com, or at 633-3136.