It’s been almost a dozen years since I came to work as a staff photographer at The Times Record. It was my dream job come true. Thousands upon thousands of shutter clicks later, it still is. But time and circumstances march on and so must I.

I leave my post with a grateful heart. I can never repay the kindness and generosity heaped upon my eye by the citizens, sea gulls and scenery of the Mid-coast. I’m continually astounded by the openness I’ve encountered and all the souls who have revealed their lives to my camera and the readers of these pages.

I’ve been witness to joy, sadness, absurdity and boredom in this wonderfully frustrating job. I wouldn’t have missed any of it for the world.

FEB. 4, 2009: Telltale signs in the snow mark where a bird took flight.

FEB. 4, 2009: Telltale signs in the snow mark where a bird took flight.

I’m not giving up my work, though. My cameras will still be glued to my face after I leave The Times Record. After all, there’s still so much to see. Thank you.

— Troy R. Bennett













JUNE 10, 2007: Mt. Ararat High School seniors T.J. Bradstreet and Samantha Payne smooch just before their graduation exercises.

JUNE 10, 2007: Mt. Ararat High School seniors T.J. Bradstreet and Samantha Payne smooch just before their graduation exercises.

JUNE 7, 2004: Essay contest winner Hannah Wright, 10, a fourth-grader at St. John’s Catholic School in Brunswick, is presented with a new bike and helmet at an assembly on the last day of school.

JUNE 7, 2004: Essay contest winner Hannah Wright, 10, a fourth-grader at St. John’s Catholic School in Brunswick, is presented with a new bike and helmet at an assembly on the last day of school.

AUG. 27, 2000: Bath Iron Works workers burn a contract offer in Portland after voting to go on strike.

AUG. 27, 2000: Bath Iron Works workers burn a contract offer in Portland after voting to go on strike.

JULY 23, 2003: Susan Goulding and Anthony Green, above, show their emotions while speaking to the press outside the Somerset County Courthouse in Skowhegan after Olland Reese was found guilty of murdering their daughter, 16-year-old Cody Green, in Bowdoin in May 2003.

JULY 23, 2003: Susan Goulding and Anthony Green, above, show their emotions while speaking to the press outside the Somerset County Courthouse in Skowhegan after Olland Reese was found guilty of murdering their daughter, 16-year-old Cody Green, in Bowdoin in May 2003.

DEC. 17, 2003: Marine reservist Derrick Hazen of Lewiston greets his wife, Jen, for the first time in 11 months after getting off a bus in Topsham with the rest of his company following deployment.

DEC. 17, 2003: Marine reservist Derrick Hazen of Lewiston greets his wife, Jen, for the first time in 11 months after getting off a bus in Topsham with the rest of his company following deployment.

MAY 28, 2008: Zackary, a Chihuahua pup from Cundy’s Harbor, snuggles with one of his adopted squirrel siblings. The dog’s mother is raising two orphan squirrels.

MAY 28, 2008: Zackary, a Chihuahua pup from Cundy’s Harbor, snuggles with one of his adopted squirrel siblings. The dog’s mother is raising two orphan squirrels.

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