PORTLAND ME. ARCHIVE

A photographic record of my home city Portland, ME. Currently, this online archive is a work in progress. Updates will occur on a weekly basis as I comb through my archives.

Last Update: Tue March 24, 2025

All photographs made by Nick Gervin, all rights reserved, copyright © Nick Gervin 2025

CITIZENS

EXHIBIT 01

Circus performance, Monument Square. 2014:06:06

Person faints in food line, Oxford St. 2016:03:31

Bernie Sanders Rally, Cross Insurance Arena 2015:07:06

Compassion March, Monument Sq. 2014:03:22

Governor La'Page gets booed of stage, USM 2015:12:08

Person jumps from window, Maine Medical Center 2016:03:29

Foto Podcast 018 - Nick Gervin

Capturing the Grit & Soul of a City

Michael Howard and Nick Gervin

Feb 26, 2025

In this episode, we sit down with Nick Gervin, a documentary photographer from Portland, Maine, whose raw and unfiltered work captures the unseen side of city life. Nick shares his journey from overcoming two traumatic brain injuries to using photography as a tool for recovery and self-expression. We dive deep into his decade-long project, Portlanders, his thoughts on documentary photography, the role of flash in his work, and how skateboarding shaped his visual style. Plus, we talk about his latest project, Mainers, where he’s expanding his lens beyond the city to capture the essence of his home state.

If you love honest, compelling storytelling through photography, this episode is for you.

-Michael Howard

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CITYSCAPES

EXHIBIT 02

West view of Congress St. from atop of 1 Monument building 2014:04:23

Franklin St. viewed from the Franklin Towers 2016:06:20

Former Veterans Bridge demolition 2012:10:18

WORKERS

EXHIBIT 03

Hood Plant, outer Congress St. 2016:02:02

Construction of the Hiawatha building, Congress St. 2016:06:20

Engine 6 responding to a call 2016:07:04

Limited edition handmade zine. Published April 15, 2015. Perfect bound. 50 editions. Sold Out.

My flash strikes the night.

Connected, yet alone.

A vibe that I have no words for, so I walk and photograph, one more block.

The wailing of the midnight bus delivering a soul as the chains spark off the sleeping streets.

A familiar turf.

A story for every brick that kicks up out of place.

The cry of the morning gulls.

The golden dawn breaks, casting the crawling darkness into the corners of my mind.

The struggles within us all, laid out on the cracked cobblestones.

Broken glass, pins and needles of pain among the beautiful gardens.

A vibe that I have no words for, so I walk and photograph, one more block.

Just one more strike of light and then I can rest my eyes under a dying tree on the West End and wither away to twigs and bone.

Connected, yet alone.

-Nick G.

SUB-STREET

EXHIBIT 04

BAYSIDE FLOODWATERS

EXHIBIT 05

Corner of Elm and Somerset St. 2015:09:30

Numerous cars were stranded in several feet of floodwater Wednesday in the low-lying areas near the intersection of Franklin and Somerset streets after a storm dropped 5.6 inches of rain on Portland in a matter of hours. In terms of magnitude, the storm fell just shy of the deluge – the fifth-worst in Portland history – that dumped 6.4 inches on the city on Aug. 13, 2014, and also caused major flooding in Bayside and other city neighborhoods.

-Portland Press Herald

-Staff writer: Kevin Miller

Oct 2, 2015

OLD PORT

EXHIBIT 06