A PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY
BEHIND THE DOOR
Profiles of a Peninsula
In this award-winning book, author and photographer Kevin O’Donnell combines photographs and stories to reveal the people, landscapes, history, and traditions of Door County and the wider Door Peninsula.
2025 IPPY GOLD
COVER DESIGN
Independent Publishers Award (International)
2025 INDIE WINNER
BEST REGIONAL NON-FICTION
Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group (USA)
2025 INDIE FINALIST
BEST OVERALL DESIGN NON-FICTION
Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group (USA)
IPPY BRONZE
BEST REGIONAL NON-FICTION
Independent Publishers Award (International)
2026 GUTTENBURG PRIZE
BEST SOFT COVER | PRINT QUALITY | PERFECT-BINDING PRODUCTION
Great Lakes Graphic Association | GEA
Darrell Braunsdorf, ‘The Heirloomist’
REAL PEOPLE. A REMARKABLE PLACE.
More Than a Destination. A Collection of Lives.
Behind the Door: Profiles of a Peninsula explores the Door Peninsula through the landscapes, history, traditions, and people that have shaped it.
In words and photographs, Kevin O’Donnell follows the cultural threads woven through life here—from farmers, fishermen, and shipyard workers to artists, musicians, and generations of families rooted in the land.
Together, their stories reveal a place defined not only by remarkable light and blue-green waters, but by its heritage, resilience, creativity, and enduring sense of connection.
“Behind the Door is an historic benchmark for the Door peninsula in the early 21st century.”
— PAUL BROPHY
author, editor
Kate Petrina, ‘Montmorency’
INSIDE THE BOOK
Photographs. Stories. A Sense of Place.
Through photographs and stories, Kevin O’Donnell looks beyond the familiar to reveal the people, landscapes, and histories that shape the Door Peninsula’s unmistakable sense of place.
“Behind The Door is a jewelry-box of a book; one I intend to take from my shelf often, and for a very long time, cherishing each of the gems within.”
— RALPH MURRE
Door County poet laureate emeritus
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kevin O’Donnell
AUTHOR + PHOTOGRAPHER
Kevin O’Donnell is a Door County photographer, visual storyteller, and award-winning author living along the shores of Lake Michigan. His work looks beyond the familiar scenery to explore the people, traditions, history, and landscapes that give the Door Peninsula its distinctive character.
His award-winning book, Behind the Door: Profiles of a Peninsula, and YouTube series, Kevin O’Donnell Behind the Door, combine photographs, essays, and video to preserve the stories—and the disappearing Door—found beyond Highways 42 and 57.
OWN A COPY
Signed Softcover Edition
$60
A beautifully produced soft cover edition is personally signed by Kevin O’Donnell. Made to be read slowly and revisited often, it’s a thoughtful gift, an enduring keepsake, and an invitation to discover the peninsula anew with every reading.
The original casebound hardcover edition is sold out.
Thank you for the incredible support.
The Story Continues Beyond the Page
QR codes placed throughout the book connect individual stories to companion videos, taking readers from Kevin’s photographs and words to the places and moments behind them—on location with Kevin as each story comes to life.
MORE BEHIND THE DOOR
Beyond Highways 42 and 57.
Part adventure, part history lesson, and part photographer’s field journal, Kevin O’Donnell’s video series explores the people, traditions, and overlooked places of the peninsula—including the disappearing Door rarely seen by visitors. No Cave Point. No windy road. No bearded goats on sod roofs.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN O’DONNELL
The Character of Place.
From Great Lakes lighthouses and the working world of ore boats and tugs to Door County landscapes, star-filled skies, and places encountered through adventure travel, Kevin O’Donnell’s photography looks beyond the obvious to reveal the story held within each place. A curated collection of images is available as fine art prints.
-
![Wilfred Sykes gearless bulk carrier at sunrise photo by Kevin O'Donnell]()
FREIGHTERS & TUG BOATS
Built for work and shaped by water, Great Lakes ore boats and tugs belong to a living maritime tradition. Kevin’s photographs chronicle these vessels, the people who guide them, and the harbors, ice, and weather that define their world.
-
![Rustic barn photographed at sunset in Door County by Kevin O'Donnell]()
THE DOOR PENINSULA
More than a destination, the Door Peninsula is a landscape of working harbors, family farms, limestone shores, and ever-changing light. Kevin’s photography reveals its history, character, and quiet details—the stories behind the Door.
-
![St Joseph's lighthouse on Lake Michigan covered by ice. Photo by Kevin O'Donnell]()
GREAT LAKES LIGHTHOUSES
Standing where land and water meet, Great Lakes lighthouses hold stories of navigation, isolation, storms, and survival. Kevin’s photographs explore their architecture, surrounding landscapes, and enduring relationship with the lakes.
-
![A bike outside a church in the Netherlands with early morning light captured by Kevin O'Donnell]()
ADVENTURE PHOTOGRAPHY
Beyond the familiar routes are landscapes shaped by time, weather, and the people who inhabit them. Kevin’s adventure travel photography searches for the character and stories that give each place its own personality.
-
![Night time image of star trails in the sky with an old house with the lights on by Kevin O'Donnell]()
ASTRO-LANDSCAPE
After darkness falls, familiar landscapes reveal an entirely different character. Kevin’s astro-landscape photography brings earth and sky into a single story, capturing lighthouses, historic places, and remote landscapes beneath the stars.
