Boosting Morale...5 minutes at a time....
During these uncertain times when worry is high and morale can be low, it’s so important to take care of ourselves and the community you call home. The challenge of being physically distanced from friends, family members and colleagues and coping with the stress of the COVID-19 , can sure take a toll on us mentally. We are people who thrive on human interaction.
Over the past few months we have seen some amazing ways people are jumping in to boost the morale of family and friends by serving meals curb side, having parking lot picnics, putting on driveway concerts, designing sidewalk chalk art, placing hearts in the windows, lighting up the football fields to celebrate the 2020 graduates and leading parades 20 cars deep to celebrate birthdays!
Enter , The Front Porch Project ~ Monticello Style (included a few comments from our journey)
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“WE LOVE how these pictures represent our families and our neighborhood as we try to find joy in the simplest ways.” ~keeping in touch
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Being a fairly extroverted person myself, I knew I wanted to do something to not only boost my own morale, but the morale of my hometown. I had heard of many photographers taking part in The Front Porch Project and knew I wanted to provide this to my community. I messaged another photographer in town and of course, he was game! Even if just for a day, we wanted to bring smiles to people’s faces and give them something to look forward to! Like so many others we wanted to boost morale in our community, but we also wanted to be safe and make sure we were following all the social distancing guidelines and give back to our community. All photos were taken safely from 15-20 feet away and took less than 5 minutes. All we asked of these families was to pass along the joy to others in some way or to purchase a gift card from a local business!
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“You guys truly captured the essence of our wonderful community. We can't thank you enough for our special momentos of what seemed like a year of being in quarantine” ~neighbors who share
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We had so much fun during these few days, although fast paced, the impact was something to remember. Pulling up in front of each house was such an adventure. We never knew what we would see next when we came around the corner. Our community went above and beyond our expectations with their creative ideas! We told each family to just be themselves, the way they are right here, right now amid this time in quarantine. And they nailed it! My cheeks definitely were hurting at the end of the day from smiling so much! And the feedback we have gotten from the community is so heartwarming. We thank you all for your support to not only us, but your town, your friends and your families!
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“Social distancing has been the weirdest thing ever, but we’ve made memories in spite of it all. “ ~pizza delivery
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“So much fun & a great memory to have documenting this weird time in our lives” ~pumping iron
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As photographers, (and i’m speaking for Mike and I) we know our job isn’t essential, we aren’t trying to be. The heros are the healthcare workers, the truck drivers, the factory workers, those who are putting thierselves and their families in jeopardy during this pandemic. We cannot thank these people enough for what they are doing for our country. What you can do and what we can do is be essential in other ways, by supporting those heros, supporting each other, and lift each other up when life as we know it now is wearing us thin. We all are struggling, families are struggling, small businesses are struggling. Choose to stay strong and support each other.
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“bringing laughter and light to a "not so fun time"! “ ~little cubs’ fan
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“one thing that has truly kept me going is laughter, and the kindness of others far reaching. I am not laughing too much these days, but when I heard local photographers were coming to our neighborhood to shoot families as part of The Front Porch Project with a chance to photograph our family during quarantine I knew if we didn’t participate we would regret preserving memories of how we handled quarantine life. When I see everyone in their masks now , it helps me to picture their smiles underneath!! That is truly why this project meant so much!!” ~ The Taxi Driver
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One of the many things I notice these days on Facebook is a unique bond forming among families. Being quarantined has forced so many families to put the ‘outside-world’ aside and really enjoy each other. When i look through these photos and see the smiles on these faces, I know it was worth it.!!!
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“ Real smiles amidst being quarantined. We will make it through this pandemic and will cherish forever having this memory” ~all smiles
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“It was so uplifting to see our neighbors outside enjoying the day and being able to gather together while still being apart. A bright spot during this time for sure. We had so much fun with it! “ ~dancing through quarantine
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“this was such a nice way to get people out of the house and capture some memorable moments during this crazy time!” ~ hope that’s chocolate
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We live in a phenomenal community, and all of your efforts are appreciated more than you know. I hope when others see these images, it reminds them that even though we are all handling this situation and spending our time in different ways, we’re all still going through the same thing together, and together we will come out on the other side an even stronger community!
40 Families + Hundreds of Smiles = Priceless Memories
~Tara
Twin Lenses Photography and a huge thanks to Mike Heiniger for all your help and your mad driving skillz.
**We are gifting a free Mini Session (20 minute session with 5 digital downloads) to two families for participating in the Front Porch Project, there is a number under each family, Mike and I are narrowing down our favorites, but we want your input to finalize the decision because we can’t decide, please comment a number of your favorite, you cannot vote for yourself ;)