NEW SHARON – A photographer and author brought a stack of books and 45 years of experience in the wilds of Maine to the Cape Cod Hill School library Thursday.
Roger Stevens has published seven books in the past five years, bringing local animals to all audiences. A longtime mill-worker with decades of experience as a photographer, Stevens was inspired by his wife, an English teacher with the local district in Lincoln, to match up his collections of wildlife photography. His books are printed in Augusta at J.S. McCarthy Printing, using eco-friendly ink and paper.
The audiences for his books range from pre-K students to adults; in one book, Stevens spent a whole summer with a loon family, including plenty of research about Maine’s iconic waterfowl. In another, pictures of foxes are aligned beside material aimed at young students. Even if a student can’t understand the words, Stevens said, they can work out the meaning through the pictures. That worked well for early grade students, CCHS librarian Lori Ellis noted, as that’s often how writing assignments are designed to function: images transitioning to words.
Stevens told CCHS students that he got his photography ideas from different sources. Working with wildlife biologists let him spend time with bear cubs, for example; Stevens explained how biologists would use a paste that smelled strongly of cedar to avoid creating issues between cubs and their mothers after handling. In another instance, Stevens was called over to a barn after someone told him about a litter of kittens. The cats ended up being foxes, the subject of Stevens’ first book.
When the students’ conversation turned to the popular Harry Potter series and the main character’s pet owl, Hedwig, Stevens used a projector to quickly produce some photographs of owls. The oo’s and ahh’s were reminiscent of a fireworks show.
Stevens told students that his books include photographs taken different time frames. His book on puffins, for example, represented four years of work off the coast of Maine, while another book on moose represented 20 years deep in the Maine woods.
Over the past two or three years, Stevens has begun presenting at schools like CCHS.
“If you can find something kids are interested in, they’ll read,” Stevens said. “Sometimes it’s animals – it was for me.”
Stevens’ books are available locally at DDG Booksellers in Farmington, online at Amazon and through contacting the author himself at mefocus@myfairpoint.net
