Photo by Shawn Patrick Ouellette

Portland/Deering girls hockey coach Tom Clifford holds a light as his daughter Kim laces her skates in the parking lot at Troubh Ice Arena before practice. In December 2020and early 2021 the team had limited access to the locker rooms because of COVID safety protocols.

Photo by Ben McCanna

Tamothy Louten kisses her second-grade son Landon Louten as he waits to enter East End Community School on Portland’s first day of school on Aug. 31. For the first time since the start of the pandemic, almost all Portland kids were back in classrooms full time.

Photo by Gregory Rec

Kandi Sullivan, lead bartender at Stripers Waterside Restaurant at the Breakwater Inn and Spa in Kennebunkport, carries dishes from one of the dining igloos on the back deck of the restaurant in March. Breakwater’s general manager Karl Whipple expected summer business to be the same or better than in 2019, which was a historically strong year for Maine tourism. He was right. Whipple says 2021 was a “banner, banner year.”

Photo by Gregory Rec

Mary Robbins administers a COVID-19 vaccine to Caron Chess during a Valentine’s Day immunization clinic on Peaks Island. The clinic at Brackett Memorial Methodist Church was organized and executed by over 20 volunteers, including several retired health professionals who now live on the island.

Photo by Brianna Soukup

Cape Elizabeth swimmers hold masks to their faces while walking back from the pool during a virtual swim meet at Richards Community Pool on Feb. 17. Because of the pandemic, swimmers competed against the clock, often against other teams competing on different days in their own pools, with the times then compared to determine winners.

Photo by Derek Davis

Howard Hozz of Key West, Fla., protests Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ vaccine mandate for health care workers outside Maine Medical Center in Portland on Aug. 14.

Photo by Brianna Soukup

Nick Bloom and Hollie Maloney, both certified pharmacy technicians, prep syringes of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine before the doors open on March 2, the first day of Northern Light Mercy Hospital’s mass vaccination clinic at the Portland Expo. Maloney said they were prepping around 500 doses for the day.

Photo by Shawn Patrick Ouellette

Adam and Sarah Tinker of Brunswick hold hands while he waits to be vaccinated against COVID-19 at a drive-thru clinic at Wiscasset Family Medicine in April. Sarah Tinker had received her shot moments earlier.

Photo by Gregory Rec

Ashley Cude helps Liz Michaud into a precaution gown in the Special Care Unit at Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway on Dec. 9. When the pandemic hit in early 2020, small hospitals like this didn’t immediately see a surge of seriously ill patients. Now, in a county with full vaccination rates still below 60 percent, the hospital is nearing capacity.

Photo by Brianna Soukup

Jeromy Lee, age 40 with no underlying health conditions, died of COVID-19 on Aug. 27. His mother, Marianne Cook; daughters Brooke Lee, 14, and Alexis Lee, 21; his grandson Levi and his widow, Nichole Lee, stand outside their home in South China.

Join our photographers on Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 6:30 p.m. for a virtual conversation about the Press Herald’s Photos Of the Year. Register here.

To buy a print of the photos in this gallery, go here. Or to browse for other photos available for purchase, go to our photo store.

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2021 Photos of the Year: Photographers’ Choice