This is LIFE.

First off, I want to be very clear that this series is not one of the “Quarantine Porch Photo Sessions” some photographers are doing nationwide. These were planned and I received no money for the photos. To prevent any negative feedback, here are a few specifics.

1. These photos were taken right before the mandatory “Stay Home” order was officially put in place in our state. (Our neighborhood was already practicing self-distancing which we vigorously maintained during these quick sessions.)

2. The sessions started as a fun way to keep my friends busy and give their kids something to do. As the virus spread and our lives changed, the series evolved. Some of these photos are fun, some are serious, and all are an attempt to document life as it is now during this very strange moment in time.

3. Any photos that appear to be closeup are not. Those photos were cropped or shot in a way to “fill the frame.”  

I’ve struggled with whether to post this because I take seriously the situation the world is in now and in no way want to appear careless or callous. So why post at all? As a creative person, I felt like I had to do something to express this new reality. 

Before starting my portrait business, I worked as a reporter and photographer for publications. I was trained to capture life as it happened. After opening my business, I started “tweaking” that reality a bit through fine art photography with color and texture, hoping to achieve that Norman Rockwell-inspired style. This is what I aimed to do with this series.

These photos represent what everyday looks like now in MY neighborhood. I’m fully aware that other areas of the country are so much worse off. But this is all I know personally and what I felt I could accurately document, with a little artistic license. 

The first photo was meant to appear last as a culminating image to this series. But I decided to include it first because it’s the reason why my family started self-distancing early on. These are my parents. My mother is undergoing chemo for gallbladder cancer and my father suffered a stroke several years ago. They live in an apartment behind our house. My parents are part of that most vulnerable population where exposure to the virus could prove fatal. 

Other photos include…

• Frustrated parents quarantined at home all day with kids

• Siblings confined to their driveways for outdoor playtime

• Parents juggling work from home while parenting little ones

• Teenagers stuck at home with parents all day, every day

• Moms with a sudden full household after adult kids return

• A tired doctor and her daughter “remote learning”

• Canceled spring break trips

• Birthday parties that never happened or turned into drive-by celebrations

• Exhausted families working and keeping little ones on “distant learning” school schedules

• A restaurant owner following new guidelines to close dine-in and only offer pickup and delivery

• A high school senior missing the last moments of her high school career

• The neighborhood playground barricaded with fencing to prevent kids from playing

This is life today.

It feels like we’re living in a fog, like we’re characters in the strangest, saddest, most unusual children’s book with no known ending. But it’s life as we know it, at least in my part of the world.

And as always…

Stay home. Stay safe.