BEHIND THE SCREENS
Staying connected and finding beauty through the screens during COVID-19
the hypothesis
What makes a beautiful photograph? Is it clarity and the quality of the resolution? Or can you still accomplish a powerful image with a low-tech video chat screenshot by using only the most integral elements of photography: good lighting, beautiful posing, and well-thought out composition? It's our hypothesis that you can. Watch our journey as we dip our toes into the theory.
tampa, fl
CHRISTINA's
story
uarantining is tough on so many levels and very different for so many people too. In order for me to reset my mind before the day starts, I wake up before the sun is up and go for a five mile walk. Now, a couple of weeks into these mind clearing walks, I feel mother nature and I are bonding.
Each morning when I walk, I see the same rabbit at the same spot just before it jumps into the woods. I see deer running and jumping as the sun barely is rising above the tree tops. This past week they stopped and looked back at me and for five minutes we just stared at each other. Further down the path I listen to the birds sing and see the same cardinal sitting on the same tree. Mother nature reminds me there is so much more to this world, there is so much beauty, I just have to slow down to see it. Quarantining has allowed me to slow down and clear my head in the mornings so I can be a better person.
The pandemic has also changed my kids lives drastically. On a typical day after school we are off running to hockey, swim, friends, and baseball. We eat meals and rock out to music in the car. These were my bonding moments especially with my oldest son.
The one thing I do know is that these are the moments that I look forward to now. I hope that these moments are also shaping a better man of our future.
- christina
"
Our bonding moments look different these days. After balancing (sometimes not very successfully) school and work and two other kids, my oldest and I go for a four mile bike ride before dinner. In these short four miles we have had some of the most profound conversations - things I couldn't have even imagined discussing with him at just eight.
We have discussed divorce, adoption, foster care, social distancing (duh!), politics, miscarriage, and death. We also have talked about love and life, education, future, careers, wants and needs. I have been able to share with him aspects of my life, such as losing a child due to trisomy 13 between him and his younger brother. I was honest with him about how hard marriage can be at times but how I chose to do life with his father.
I don't set out on those four miles with a topic to discuss but maybe my eight year-old does, who knows.
q
tampa, fl
lisa patel's
story
y story has always been a bit spontaneous! I suppose that comes from an entrepreneurial mindset that always leads me to wanting to execute on ideas and just simply the creative passion that sometimes hits my heart!
The quarantine was the best moments of my life to be honest! It all started with my own independence. I loved being on my own every day. It gave me time not to think about how I could fit myself into the world on a normal social day. I got my google ads certification, I started taking marketing classes, I started rebuilding my companies website until the one day I was forced to bring out my barely used sewing machine to make a mask.
Moral of the story is ‘The key to life is the beauty you see behind it.’ There’s no situation that is unfit and uncertainty of life is the beauty of the journey that every human was born to take!
- lisa patel
"
My life instantly changed and a new venture was born! Now I make masks for a career while giving back to the community. During the endless hours day and night I heard about the concept of a shoot behind the lens of a computer and I had to jump on the opportunity to be a part of it.
The beauty of the shot expressed independence, womanhood, passion, sexiness, and my entire world of who I am was showcased through her ability to take a in home shot through 2 computers!
Founder of Buki Agency and Masks Made with Care
M
tampa, fl
dana + adam's
story
personally am a homebody - probably enjoying this quarantine more than most people as it’s given me so much extra time with my husband before we welcome our baby boy to the world.
However being pregnant during this quarantine is a bit scary. Not knowing if my husband will be allowed in the delivery room, the likelihood that Lincoln will be here early and Adam won’t be able to join us in the NICU, having to cancel our baby shower when we’ve waited years for this, plus not being able to properly prepare since so much is out of stock or extremely long delivery times - it’s all a bit overwhelming and scary honestly.
It also has brought out our tribe. FaceTiming weekly with family and friends, doing a fun virtual shoot with our friend and photographer Jessie... we know we aren’t alone and can survive this.
- dana sloope
"
I
tampa, fl
melissa's
story
s an entrepreneur in the culinary space, this pandemic has created a major shift in my business and in the lives of my TRIBE (aka my clients, friends, family…. Not to mention, every human on the planet). It’s tremendously scary to watch the worlds of everyone around you come to a screeching halt. Conversely, it’s been an amazing, eye-opening experience that’s forced us to evolve in ways we never expected, myself included.
Behind the Screens was a refreshing way to shake my new normal up. For once, I didn’t have to think about where my next paycheck was coming from or spending 3 hours sanitizing my groceries with Clorox wipes. For a minute, I could just be me again.
- melissa santell
"
A
Suddenly, I’m hosting virtual cooking classes to boost employee morale for companies near and far. I chose to launch my first cookbook in hopes of providing creative inspiration to those who’ve been quietly quarantined for weeks. I’m donating my time to helping local companies raise awareness for their “evolutions” too.
eing separated from our loved ones during the COVID-19 shutdown has been heartbreaking for so many people. For some, they were unable to say goodbye to family members before they passed. For others, not getting to document personal milestones has seemed inconsequential in comparison, but truly heartbreaking all the same.
When one of our amazing clients told us about her sadness over not being able to have her first Mother's Day documented, we were inspired to try to salvage some of those memories for her.
We realize that the quality of a video chat screenshot is terrible, but in this day an age of camera manufacturers fighting to have the most mega-pixels, we wondered if it might still be possible to get a beautiful moment captured with a low-tech solution using the basics of photography: good lighting, beautiful posing, and well-thought out composition.
One of our favorite photographers, Henri Cartier-Bresson, was considered a master of photojournalism. His first camera was a Brownie, a basic cardboard box camera with a simple meniscus lens that took 2 1/4-inch square pictures on 117 roll film.
If he could capture the "decisive moment" with such a camera, we were inspired to attempt the same. We're excited to share those moments with you here.
We are thrilled to be with you. Apart, but forever connected in spirit.
B
THE inspiration
"
JESSIE + PAVEL
Henri Cartier-Bresson
LET'S CREATE TOGETHER!
Photography has always been about connection, and we're so excited to connect with you - from our separate corners of self-isolation. We are offering these sessions as part of our personal happiness project, so they are donation based only. We will continue to try to fit as many shoots onto our schedule for as long as possible. Please remember that the final photo quality is based solely on your device quality and strength of your WiFi connection.
