The Decade of March 2020 (A COVID-19 Update)

Personal

7 Apr

Hey friends!

Are you enjoying your 2020? It’s been delivered with a side of a bushfire crisis + a global pandemic….

Ohhh man, can you remember, just a few short months ago, how bright and enthusiastic we were for the start of a new decade? I mean 2020 has such a great ring to it, how could we not be excited!

And then boy, did it all turn to shit or what.

Before the year even started, our country burned. Homes and lives were lost, not to mention the millions and millions of precious flora and fauna. The skies were filled with their ashes, our lungs filled with smoke, for weeks on end. And Celeste Barber raised 50 million dollars!?

‘How could anything eclipse this?’ we wondered?

Ha.

Here we are, in April, in a global lockdown due to a deadly virus that kills without rhyme or reason.

And now the one thing I love to photograph the most – the connection we share with our loved ones – is the very thing that will kill us.

How is this even real life, honestly.

How are you going with it all? Are you okay?

I have been a bit of a yo-yo. The first week that lockdowns started happening was awful, there was so much change and I hit the all-too-much and build-me-a-pillow-fort-pronto stage.

Being unable to work is scary. Like every other small business out there, I’ve got bills to pay. And as of the end of March? No more money coming in to pay them. I’ve been fighting the need to INNOVATEINNOVATEINNOVATE and just, breathe, through all of the change and let the dust settle.

It’s been devastating to watch so many businesses struggle and close, and people cancel their weddings and events. Equally incredible and inspiring to watch so many businesses pivot online and provide work-from-home solutions. Terrifying to watch the economy grind to an almost complete stop.

If you’re struggling right now, remember that we’re all going through a traumatic experience, and whatever you’re feeling is okay. It’s okay to innovate, and it’s equally okay to build a pillow fort and just focus on getting through to the other side. It’s also okay to yo-yo between grief + motivation, which is what I seem to be doing. Over the last week I’ve felt more like myself, so I gave the website a little makeover on the home + about me pages, and I’m just putting the finishing touches on a guide for mama’s about to have babies (with helpful tips on how they can photograph their little ones with their phone camera). I’m also tossing around some ideas about what kind of mentoring I can offer to other photographers going through a hard time.

A SPEcIAL NOTE FOR MY CLIENTS

For my clients reading this, please be assured that my business will not be closing. And I am indescribably grateful that the worst thing I’ve had to do so far is just cancel all my non-essential subscriptions.

Even though I can’t actually photograph anyone right now, you can bet your bottom dollar that the second we’re allowed to hug each other again I’ll be ready to swing back into action!

In the meantime, if you’ve been thinking about booking in a session with me I’m currently accepting calendar reservations.

What does this mean?

you pay a booking fee of $199 to reserve a spot in my calendar, so that when this is all over you’ll get first dibs on choosing a date for your session (weddings get priority).
there’s nothing else to pay until I’m able to get back to work, and we can confirm a session, and then I’ll send you an invoice for the balance of your session fee.
for those who would like to book in a newborn session, I’m in the middle of putting together a special session offer for babies born during this craziness, especially for babies who are a little older by the time we can have a newborn session! Stay tuned for more information on that.

If you’re interested in reserving a spot in my calendar, please send me an email!