Three Island photographers have replaced their lens caps after continued complaints forced them to stop their Front Step portrait service.
Prince County photographers Kolby Perry and Katerina Kuzminer and Charlottetown shutterbug Susan Gaudet of Anita Marie Photography had been taking portraits of families on their front stoops while Islanders were asked to stay home due to the coronavirus (COVID-19 strain) pandemic.
Perry was keen to head out and received a lot of positive feedback from families.
“If that makes them happy, then it’s worth it - as long as everybody is social distancing,” said Perry.
“The whole point is to spread kindness and bring smiles to people’s faces. That’s why somebody started it in the first place.”
Kuzminer’s routine at a stop was to pull in and honk, the family came out on their porch, and she stepped out of her car and took a few shots.
“It was super fun,” said Kuzminer.
“I just did it to get out of my house and keep shooting, because that’s what I love.”
With zoom lenses, the two parties were not ever close to each other, said Kuzminer.
“We didn’t go near them at all,” she said.
Despite the cautious approach, complaints rolled in to the department of health and to the individual women on social media.
Even after Gaudet received a letter from the province acknowledging there were adequate safety protocols in place, complaints continued.
On Saturday, April 4, Gaudet got word from the province to stop, the message was extended to Kuzminer and Perry.
“Everybody was kind of upset about it, because there was nothing wrong. Even the government didn’t think it was wrong,” said Kuzminer.
“We did shoot over 600 families, I’m so proud of what we did.”
Gaudet was heartsick at the news but said she understood where the province was coming from.
“Obviously, the safety of the community comes first,” she said.
“They did, ultimately, the right thing because they want to avoid community spread. The idea of (my opposition) wasting the time of Health P.E.I.’s direct line to make complaints …it left a gross feeling for me.”
Gaudet said the last thing she wants is for the photography project to distract health professionals from the more important issues in the pandemic and she is glad of the photos she was able to take.
“Those pictures are very important right now, because they did bring a lot of joy and they are what we will have in the future to look back on they experience with,” Gaudet said.
While Perry and Kuzminer took portraits at no charge, Gaudet decided to accept donations.
Before the complaints shut them all down, Gaudet collected $1,750.
She was able to give $1,000 to the Upper Room food Bank, buy groceries for three families she found on the P.E.I. Caremongering page, make a donation to Pure Kitchen’s pre-made meal delivery service and give away $125 in $5 gift cards for Tim Horton’s to cashiers and other service workers.
Gaudet has no hard feelings to the government, saying everyone is learning to tread water through this time.
“This whole thing needs to be handled with as much grace as possible,” said Gaudet.
Stepping across the continent
The Front Step Project is reaching towns across Canada and the U.S. Check out what other photographers are doing:
Manhattan: kbzk.com/news/coronavirus/photographers-bring-the-front-steps-project-to-manhattan
Kelowna: globalnews.ca/news/6739112/coronavirus-photo-fundraiser-sweeping-north-america-comes-to-okanagan/
Sault Ste. Marie: saultstar.com/news/local-news/photographer-weighs-in-on-value-of-front-steps-project/wcm/699dc3d3-2557-473b-90ad-2529486e6d31
Ottawa: ottawa.ctvnews.ca/front-steps-project-captures-joy-donations-for-food-bank-amid-covid-19-1.4867754
Bakersfield, Calif.: bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/photographer-brings-the-front-steps-project-to-bakersfield
