From The Archives:: Melissa, Art Teacher

Frida/Melissa is one of my roller derby pals. As an art teacher and a person I love photographing, I knew I wanted to ask her to be part of this project. I had no photo in mind when I reached out to her WEEKS ago, so she got back to me real quick before I was ready for a post. I found this image that I have love but had my own hesitations in using. Things I notice that make me think ‘oh maybe not for instagram.’ But this project has not only allowed me to hear from people during all the Covid concerns but also got me to loosen up about some of the images I wasn’t super sure about sharing.

So, yes she shared this with me several weeks ago and some things have shifted and school has ended for the year as of this week, it is still relevant and an important part of this project to hear her perspective. Especially since she is currently in quarantine in order to have surgery in the coming days….

Frida Rockit coaching the Maine Roller Deber RIP Tides at Happy Wheels in Portland, Maine.

Frida Rockit coaching the Maine Roller Deber RIP Tides at Happy Wheels in Portland, Maine.

Name: Melissa Prescott (aka Frida Rockit)

Occupation/Business:  Middle School Visual Art Teacher

1. What is one notable change in your life since Covid19 has changed how we are able to do things?
 I work as a middle school visual art teacher - and my birthday, March 13, was likely the last day I'll teach kids in person this school year. Like all teachers, I'm working hard and doing my best to teach my students remotely.

2. What has been most challenging?
Not being able to teach in person is very challenging, as is not being able to visit with friends and loved ones - but video calls are helping. However, I think the most challenging part for me is the anxiety that comes with knowing that my loved ones who are immunocompromised are likely to have serious health complications if they catch the virus. Thinking that they could be in a hospital, in a life-threatening situation, and I wouldn’t be able to see them is terrifying.   It’s also infuriating to know that people are now more at-risk and will have to continue sheltering in place EVEN LONGER because some people refuse to follow basic CDC safety rules. It’s a disgrace that local law-enforcement agencies, who are are already overwhelmed with domestic violence calls, now have to divert precious resources to answer calls about businesses that are putting people’s lives at risk for profit and politics.  It’s also a disgrace that businesses and employees that have lost their income due to following the rules to keep people safe are still not getting the income support that was promised by our government. 

3. Have you found any silver linings you care to share?
Even though remote learning is challenging, I've been able to connect with and support my students online, and that helps me feel like I’m making a difference. A local arts organization (BAAM - Bethel Area Arts and Music) donated money so we could get free art supplies out to our kids, and it was awesome to share this news with them and see how much this brightened their day. The positive feedback that I’m seeing from students and parents about the work that teachers are doing is uplifting.  It’s also encouraging to see how many people are finally realizing that schools do so much more than teach content. 

Another silver lining is the connections I've been able to have with friends on Zoom. While it’s not the same as seeing each other in person, I’ve been able to talk frequently with many people that I didn’t normally see or talk to very often before the pandemic. It’s so easy to get caught up in the routine of daily life, but in the absence of that, it's very comforting to feel the support of my friends and loved ones from afar.  I'm even more grateful now for the friendships that I've developed and maintained with many people over the years - they have helped keep me afloat when I feel like I might be drowning.

4. Are there any shifts you are hoping to stay in place as we move forward?
I hope everybody remembers how important healthy relationships with people really are, and how critical they are for supporting us when we’re going through hard times. I hope everybody has a better understanding of how critical it is to have social safety nets in place in our country, because anybody can fall on hard times through no fault of their own.  I hope that people have a better understanding of the deadly consequences of science denial, and are more likely to listen to the warnings of doctors and scientists. I also hope that people support their local public schools and teachers with even more energy than before. This is a long road, and we’re not out of the woods yet.

5. What are you most looking forward to being able to do again?
What I’m most looking forward to is being able to see my loved ones face-to-face when it's finally safe for them to stop sheltering in place.

6. Anything else you want to share..?
I also really miss my Maine Roller Derby family, and the supportive routines that I had as part of the MRD organization. I hope that we can find a new normal soon, and return to play when it is safe to do so. In the meantime, we’re supporting each other the best we can through the magic of the interwebs, and the foundation of trust and respect that that comes with true roller derby love. 
I also know that I’m very privileged to still have my health, a job with income and health coverage, supportive friends and family, and a safe place to live - I wish the for the same for everyone, and I'll continue to do my part to have a positive impact on my community.

Frida after a roller derby bout at the Portland Expo.

Frida after a roller derby bout at the Portland Expo.

Thank you, Frida/Melissa for sharing your story and for always being so fun, passionate, and enthusiastic about everything. I miss laughing with you over silly stuff while stretching at the end of derby practice. Now heal up and stay healthy!

xo

From The Archives:: James, Bowdoin College

Seriously how cute are they?

I know. It’s ridiculous. Then add that crazy California dessert light and a gorgeous vintage plane… safe to say that was one of the more fun events I have photographed. A year ++ before we knew we needed to worry about a thing known as Coronavirus, before our lives shifted in such crazy ways. I think most people I have spoken to have had a real mixed bag of feeling ok, anxious, tired, grumpy, calm, and most things in-between. And some have been able to really be ok with the introvert they always knew they were. Like for some, this time has been a bizarre gift they didn’t know they needed. It’s another piece I am loving about having people share a piece of their experience with me. And I know I can relate to enjoying the feeling that things are slower and sometimes that feels good and necessary. Uncertainty with a bit of a positive spin, perhaps.

So please enjoy the next story in my From The Archives Project from my pal, Jamey…

This wedding of these people ❤️

This wedding of these people ❤️

James Tanzer

Occupation/Business: Museum Outreach Coordinator

1. What is one notable change in your life since Covid19 has changed how we are able to do things?

My job had to pivot completely. I went from being a front-facing museum employee to sitting at my dining room table trying to figure out ways to make our museum accessible, useful, and engaging entirely online. But I like the challenge, and being able to connect with the worldwide museum community to sort out our next steps as an industry has been really exciting, in a way!

2. What has been most challenging?

Not being able check on my senior citizen parents in person. As an only child, this has caused me the most worry. 

3. Have you found any silver linings you care to share? 

Oh my gosh, yes. I like having so many fewer things on my calendar—I have more time to do the things that actually need doing. For example, I’ve been able to focus on making my house feel like a home and not just the place I eat breakfast and sleep. Also, for fun, my wife and I have been exploring new places in Maine every weekend. We have been checking out old cemeteries and forest trails and historic places. We never really did that before: exploring in our own backyard, as it were. Also, because I have been working from home and my wife’s work has shut down temporarily, we have been able to spend more time together than we ever have before. I feel incredibly lucky to have had this time with her—usually we only get one day together a week. I’m so grateful for that. 

4. Are there any shifts you are hoping to stay in place as we move forward?

Yes! We have been doing actual meal planning and cooking at home six days a week these past two months. We’ve never really done that before and it saves a ton of money and stress. I definitely want to keep that up! Also exploring Maine on the weekends and getting outdoors in all kinds of weather has been fun and enlightening (not to mention inexpensive!). That’s another shift I’m hoping we can stick to.

5. What are you most looking forward to being able to do again?

Seeing our families, traveling, and thrifting. I miss finding treasures at Goodwill!

6. Anything else you want to share..?

It’s been easier than I thought it would be to adhere to social distancing guidelines. I always knew I was an introvert, but this has brought it into pretty sharp focus. I’ve learned a lot about myself.

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Thank you, Jamey, for sharing your your Covid experience with me and for being such an important person in my life since those days we met while skating in circles in roller skates. Here’s to more fun, laughs, street corn, and mini adventures!

~ jb

From The Archives:: Blake from Coast 93.1

You may know this guy, or at least you may have heard his voice on your radio in the morning if you live in Southern Maine. Whenever I see him he has a smile and a hug for me and makes the time to chat and laugh, even if we are both working. He is often a welcome and familiar face at any event I may run into him.

And plus, this photo is pretty classic Blake. I like an image of someone that makes me think I would probably get along with that person. Perhaps this is actually how I approach photographing people more often than I was aware.

This project is teaching me so much! Ha!

Blake, on a rooftop in 2019.

Blake, on a rooftop in 2019.

Blake Hayes
Occupation/Business:  radio personality / morning show host (coast 93.1)

What is one notable change in your life since Covid19 has changed how we are able to do things?

I miss my friends! Of course we talk and text and video call often, but human connection is important to me. I miss being able to hug the people I love, and hug the people who start as strangers and could become friends.

Have you found any silver linings you care to share?

I have never felt more grateful to have a job, and a job that seems to mean something to people. Every day that we are on the radio, I feel like we are doing our show specifically for the front line.  Because I’m lucky enough to still be working, I have been trying to support the local restaurants by getting takeout as often as I can. It’s a spoiled way to be living in these times, but it has given me something to look forward to each day: what amazing restaurant will I call today?!  Plus, it’s been a nice way to connect with the community, even if just for a masked hand-off.   

Are there any shifts you are hoping to stay in place as we move forward?

I think we have all connected with people in a deeper and more important way than we did before. I know I have reached out to friends who I hadn’t reached out to in awhile. And I’ve heard from people who I hadn’t talked to recently. I hope that continues! Life has slowed down. And sometimes it would be good to do that again.

What are you most looking forward to being able to do again?

Hug people!! Of all the things I miss right now, hugging people is number one. But I also can’t wait to sit at a bar, have a conversation with the bartender, without some homemade stitched cloth separating our faces, as I wait for friends to arrive, hug, and be close with one another.

***

Thanks, Blake for being part of this and for always being a friendly face whenever I run into you. I am looking forward to getting a hug in when the time finally allows!

xo~ jb

Give Me Your Huggy Smiles

Is it better to share past moments as a reminder or better to share present moments, even if they seem less happy? Is it too hard to see reminders of what you can’t be doing right now?

Maybe. For some. But for others we need the reminders. The smiles. The glimpses of moments that make us feel, that remind, that ground us both in the past and in the present, while looking forward to what may come. Folders and folders of images unshared, blog posts unpublished. And I find myself looking at my work differently these days.

Leaguemates! Maine Roller Derby skaters Slammin’, Wrex, and Ax at Happy Wheels, December 15, 2019.

Leaguemates! Maine Roller Derby skaters Slammin’, Wrex, and Ax at Happy Wheels, December 15, 2019.

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In December our local roller rink closed. This winter a story was published sharing news of the possibility of another rink to be built. In March the Corona Virus showed up on our shores and everything started to change and shift quickly. Weeks into school closures and stay at homes orders, I find images in my folders needing to be shared. Friends sharing final moments on skates, at a roller rink that no longer is, way before we knew that soon all sports and gatherings of people would also come to a halt.

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So, do we share these moments and risk feeling sad? Or do we share and remember and smile? Find a thing to focus on, a thing to get back to…?

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I think we share. We keep pushing forward and tell the stories and share the moments but somehow remember and focus on the now at the same time. Because believe me I never thought I would be so badly craving having my camera capture a hug between friends/family/teammates/strangers. I always knew that’s where it was for me, I never thought I would have to know what it feels like to not be chasing down those moments.

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So, while I normally gravitate to the photos where people are less camera aware, or are at least not mugging for the camera, I am suddenly wanting more and more of the silly huggy smiles FOR the camera. These shared bits of happiness between people.

So, YES I can’t wait to get back to gatherings of humans for my camera to capture. But I also know some things will be forever changed. And that is somehow ok, even if we don’t know yet what it means.

Last Maine Roller Derby bout at Happy Wheels, 12/15/19. Happy Wheels Skate Center, Portland, Maine.

Last Maine Roller Derby bout at Happy Wheels, 12/15/19. Happy Wheels Skate Center, Portland, Maine.

All images in this post were taken at Happy Wheels Skate Center, Warren Avenue, Portland, Maine on December 15th, 2019 during the final roller derby bout at that facility.

For now, we skate separately on our neighborhood streets and basement floors…. waiting for the days when we can gather in groups and skate our hearts out.

Be safe & don’t forget to hydrate!

xo ~ jb

{Maine Event Photographer}: Palm Springs Wedding

Once upon a time, I did photograph weddings. Then I decided it was time to break up with them. So, I say I don’t do weddings anymore…

But sometimes the right people can convince me to pack up the gear and show up to their wedding and work my way through a big life moment I know matters to them. Sometimes that happens twice with the same friends, the second time came with the promise of a trip to Palm Springs. A trip to California? How fast can I say yes?!?

Jamey & Kori’s California Wedding | Palm Springs Air Museum.

Jamey & Kori’s California Wedding | Palm Springs Air Museum.

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So, these two fantastic humans first got married in my yard in Maine in a sweet ceremony with a small group of people. Then later it was wedding part two in the desert, at an air museum. Seriously. This ocean girl loved LOVED this background and light! Plus, I got to see these people I care about share their love with an even bigger group of people who love and support them.

So, I (pretty much) don’t do weddings anymore. Except every so often when things line up right and maybe I just can’t resist because I know it’s going to be just that awesome. And this wedding was!

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Thank You, Jamey & Kori for being such important people in my life, for getting married TWICE, and for including me in such a big way both times!

xoxo