(All Photos Courtesy of Lisa Flener of All Seasons of Life Photography)
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ROSEWOOD HEIGHTS - In these difficult coronavirus pandemic times, Photographer Lisa Flener of All Seasons of Life Photography created a break of hope and a ray of sunshine in her Airwood Manor neighborhood Wednesday in Rosewood Heights.
Lisa was inspired by another photographer she saw on the national front who took a series of neighborhood photos. She loved the idea and decided to use her skills for a free front porch photoshoot for anyone who wanted to participate. Once she posted this opportunity on her personal Facebook and business Facebook pages, people had 24 hours to prepare. More than 30 families joined in the fun and the result was “absolutely amazing,” Lisa said. The photos on her Facebook pages have been shared over and over and some across the country.
“Smiles and excited faces lit up the streets as parents and kids alike planned and had something to look forward to,” Lisa said. “We got to celebrate a 50th wedding anniversary and a little one turning six months old. Windows were decorated, props set up, outfits planned. The end product was more than I could have ever imagined. Life was captured in all its wonderful glory. The people who make up my neighborhood got to show the beauty that makes them who they are. Today was truly one for the record books and so extremely special to me. I hope you enjoy seeing these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them. And fall in love with the beauty of life in the midst of all this chaos.”
The photos included a wide range of costumes. One girl posed with a toilet paper stand, instead of a lemonade stand. A family of three boys posed with basketballs, three sisters are captured by a small spiderman and much more!
Lisa stressed social distancing throughout her photography walk. She nicely asked that no one hug her during the outing and families stayed on their own property to keep social distancing in place. Lisa said she felt the photoshoot made everyone’s day!
“For a moment we were able to pause all the chaos and make it about happiness again,” she said. “Even a bar and restaurant - Airliner - brought employees out to pose for a photo. They have been doing carry-out orders.”
The Rosewood Heights photographer encouraged other photographers to do the same thing she did in their own neighborhoods to provide a moment of brightness for their friends.
“We did this at noon on Wednesday and it about three hours,” she said. “I edited all the pictures and posted them on my website and Facebook pages. It was a non-stop enlightening experience.”
“The participants were all smiling and so excited,” Lisa said. “I have been a photographer for nine years. I get to share in the happy parts of everybody’s life. It is the best job ever. It was so cool that I had never met most who participated yesterday, but we kept the six-foot distance and I used long lenses.”
Lisa works at two restaurants in addition to her photography business and has four children and she said this is a scary time for her family.
“My son said it best yesterday when he said mom, 9/11 was your moment in history in your lifetime and now for me and my friends, this is the moment that will be in the history books during our lifetime. We will never forget. We figured if we made our community smile even for a minute, it was the coolest thing in the world.”
Lisa said she feels truly blessed at what happened in her neighborhood photography walk.
“We can do pretty amazing things when God brings us together,” she said. “All my friends were going, going with their kids and now they have to stay at home and make dinner and really talk with their children. I think this is God’s way of telling us all to sit down for a minute. It has been a blessing for me and my kids to spend a lot of quality time together.”
She closed by saying some beautiful words: “Really the gift was given to me by neighbors filling my heart with their smiles and love for their family.”
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