Greetings, fellow Earth creatures.

It may feel like we went to sleep on our planet and woke up on a weird, parallel one, but alas, this is, indeed, our life (for) now.

I watched so many small businesses close in a matter of days. Students were sent home. Restaurants were scrambling. Thousands of people were out of work. And running in the background was an ever-growing fear for our health.

And my weird new normal? Getting close enough to people to give them something exceptionally real is kinda my thing.

For the past 10 years, I’ve been invited to countless home photoshoots and I’ve also perfected a pretty sweet newborn swaddle technique along the way. I’ve photographed a boatload of weddings and affixed no less than 100 boutonnières over the years. I’ve taken off my own shoes to give to a blogger mid-shoot and I’ve never thought twice about romping in a yard with kids and dogs to get the shot. And then about a month ago, we were told to avoid people. I was worried for my business, certainly, and personally I felt a bit unanchored.

On Instagram I wrote:

Overnight I became a portrait photographer who must avoid people.
Photographers become photographers because we become obsessed with chasing brief but spectacular seconds in the day. We become photographers because we fall in love with visually bringing meaning to moments.
Last Friday, I didn’t just feel the loss of business, I felt the loss of purpose.

Maybe like you, I felt that deep desire to help, but I had no idea how to.

I did, however, have loads of time so I began asking around.

The good news is, I found so many examples of brave people who heard the call and showed up in even bigger ways than I could. And that became my ignition fluid.

You can see a little more about the event that kicked off my excitement here.

What became more apparent than ever? Humans are so adaptable.

• • •

Okay, so fast-forward 3 weeks.

I’m still not able to return to regular photo sessions. There’s just no way to do so safely yet nor is it essential at this time. And I am making peace with that.

Inspired by #frontstepsproject, however, I began finding people who simply wanted documentation (from a distance) of their new normal. And then I started asking questions.

Some questions came to the surface were each time. What are you doing with this time? How are you feeling? How are you managing? It started as portraits from a distance and now I see there is a little series of something more emerging.

I figured, no better time than the present to show you an example and I’ma do so featuring

A P U P P Y T O N G U E !

The deets:

My client/friend/muse is a mover and a shaker and keeps fitness accessible for folks who have graduated beyond slimming, diarrhea teas. You can read more about that on her website.

Last week, I stood on the sidewalk and shouted questions at her and then I photographed LUCY, her newest fur-baby! Lizzie’s pack was self-quarantining for the indefinite future and heard shelters were under immense strain due to lack of volunteers and distancing measures in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. One day Lucy was in a kill shelter and the next she was werking it with her new sister from a front yard in Seattle, WA.

*crying is my new passion*