Knock knock!
We find ourselves in a strange time but what it’s shown to me is really the importance of home, of family and friendship. When we look back to “this time last year” we’ll have so many memories of something quite extraordinary. Our national effort to stay at home, to get along all day when we’re so used to the rush of everyday running around.
I really hope the children look back fondly remembering the rainbows they made for their windows and the long walks they took or standing in the street banging pots and pans to cheer on the heroes of the NHS and carers. Will they remember charming Captain Tom walking the laps of his garden and being made Colonel by The Queen and then Sir to add to his many titles. I wonder if the older children will long to return to lessons via zoom and will the little ones even believe any of this actually happened at all?
VE Day, marking the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe in WWII was one of the most special moments so far for me because it was the first time I braved asking any of my neighbours if they’d like to have a doorstep photo. I’d spotted a few other photographers in different parts of the country had started doing it and decided to take the plunge. That Friday was perfect timing. I met people in my village I’ve never met before and it was the first time in weeks that the national mood had really lifted. People were playing music from their homes and sharing baked goodies with their neighbours. Flags were flying and bunting was everywhere and David here was driving his tractor round the village! The photos tell the story.
After VE day doorstep photos have since grown in popularity and it’s so nice to be able to pick up my camera and give people a memory of this time. Government pandemic restrictions have lifted a little now too so I can venture a bit further than before to knock on those doors and take a quick portrait.
If you’d like your very own I’m doing them for a donation of whatever you can afford. 50% goes to Isabel Hospice’s coronavirus fund. The doorstep photo takes no more than 10 minutes and you get a selection to choose from. Any payments are taken online after the shoot. Get in touch before life goes back to “normal”.