Unlike Paul Bunyan, the legendary lumberjack who was born in Maine and moved to Minnesota, I was born and raised in Minnesota and moved to Maine. I love it here, but when I tell people what it’s like living here, I say, “It’s Minnesota with an ocean,” which reflects my true home and where my heart resides. So, listening to news reports, I was horrified—along with the rest of the world—but being it was happening on home turf, it felt personal and seared my heart like a branding.

Dean Kotula, Photographer