Welcome to Mooseport, Canada?

The new 20th Century Fox comedy stars Gene Hackman as the former U.S. president and Ray Romano as the local handyman, who are vying not only for the mayor’s post in Mooseport but also for the affections of the town veterinarian, played by Maura Tierney (“ER”). The feature film is set in an idyllic coastal Maine community, but was filmed at three locations in Ontario.

So, when the film’s art department sought to reinforce the look of Maine, they contacted Greg Hartford.

The Bangor resident – a musician, artist, poet, media consultant and photographer – is the creator of AcadiaMagic.com, a Web site dedicated to all things Acadia.

Hartford was first contacted by Clare Piller, from the film’s clearances and product placement department, April 15, 2003. She was seeking to use one of his photos, which would be altered and used in the movie.

On April 21, the film’s art director ordered three more photos, and another 10 on May 1. Although the 14 photos are by far the largest photo order that AcadiaMagic.com has received, Hartford said that the money involved was not his primary concern.

“It was the flattery, the recognition, perhaps a door opening,” Hartford said in a recent interview. “It’s something that could have P.R. value for AcadiaMagic.com. It adds legitimacy to the approach I’ve used.”

Still, Hartford, whose day job is director of media consulting and sales for Soyatech in Town Hill, didn’t know exactly how his photos had been used until he went to a sneak preview of the film Feb. 15 in Bangor (it opened officially Feb. 20).

“It was a bit thrilling seeing my photos in the movie as they appeared,” explained Hartford, 53. “About six [or more] are on the walls of the Pig & Whistle restaurant. The first photo that was contracted for is on the wall of President Cole’s office at his Mooseport home. I’m sure that I may have missed a few.”

The small role by his photos in “Welcome to Mooseport” is the most visible success of Hartford’s labor of love: AcadiaMagic.com. Previously, his Acadia photos had been featured in Cooking Light magazine and the Maine Times.

Acadia has held a special place for the Dexter native since childhood, when his family would take annual treks to Mount Desert Island.

As he recounts on AcadiaMagic.com, “We would always bring food and then buy fresh lobster and steamers in Trenton for a wonderful feast before crossing onto Mount Desert Island. There were at least three generations of relatives, and the day spent on the coast together created an everlasting memory. We played games in the grass and walked barefooted across the seaweed and rocks. It’s amazing how long the smell of the air stays with you.

“Then, with a full and satisfied belly, we drove into the park and gorged our senses further with sights, sounds and smells, that left us not wanting,” he continued. “Acadia is a place that calls upon those with a depth of soulfulness and spirit. It is a place of raw beauty and introspection.”

As an adult, Hartford spent close to 20 years living in Florida, making a living with his creative skills, which included, among other things, teaching photography and serving as the marketing wing of Premier Cruise Lines, then the official cruise line of Walt Disney World.

Still, he could hear Acadia calling. He would even fly up on weekends to do some shooting, returning on Sunday.

Following a divorce, Hartford moved back to Maine in 1999. While working as a Web consultant for what would become Prexar, he conceived of the idea for AcadiaMagic.com. He learned the HTML – or Web site building – code to make the site a reality.

“The beauty of [Acadia] stayed with me, and I found myself wanting to get back there to capture and communicate that beauty,” he said. “The Web provided a perfect environment to do that.”

Practically speaking, the Web site was a place to display his photos. But Hartford wanted to make it more than that.

“I wanted to make it pleasurable to people who had been there, who had an emotional attachment to it,” he said. “For those who hadn’t been there, I wanted it to be very attractive.”

Hartford’s goal has been to gather all the information that a visitor might want in one place.

“It’s been a camp divided, with [every business] so focused on their own agenda,” he said. “They don’t realize they could make a stronger statement if they pulled themselves together. Small businesses can’t afford to spend $100,000 on a Web site. So I began the process of creating a Web site that gives the feeling of what each area is going to be like, so a small business can be part of something bigger.”

AcadiaMagic.com is now 800 pages and growing. Hartford has also been studying search-engine optimization, finding the right key terms and phrases to earn his site a high position on such search engines as Google. One result was 1.5 million hits at his site’s peak time last July.

Hartford feels that he’s on the right track based on the e-mails he has been receiving from visitors to his site.

Northeast Harbor native Jim Hooper wrote about the things he remembered about his old home town, and added, “The memories of those summers so long ago came roaring back to me as I went up and down your site reading your writings and looking at your photos. I could almost smell the salt air. … I’ve been saying for years I’ll go back next year, but I’ve always had an excuse. You’ve stirred my juices; I will be there next year. Just wanted to thank you for the best lunch I’ve had in ages.”

Jeanne Meyer wrote that she moved to Maine after viewing Hartford’s site, then visiting Acadia.

“Your inspired work with depicting Acadia as the magical and mystical place it really is changed my life … it made moving to Maine possible for me,” she wrote.

Hartford is heartened by this reaction.

“When you get that emotional response from people, that’s what it’s all about: creating something that resonates in the hearts of people that love the area,” he said.

Eventually, Hartford would like to expand, taking the AcadiaMagic brand name and creating a store filled with Maine-made merchandise, or maybe starting a Maine-based magazine.

In the meantime, his main regret is not having enough hours in the day.

“I don’t have enough time for photography,” he said. “That’s my real soul right there.”

Dale McGarrigle can be reached at 990-8028 or dmcgarrigle@bangordailynews.net