michelecrowephoto

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Remote Shooting with Savanna Hellman :: Maryland Savanna and I met through an artists barter webiste called, Trade Mode Life. Her being a Reiki and Taror Master, and me being a Photographer, we decided that I would do a professional shoot for her website and in exchange she would give me some Reiki and Tarot Sessions. Now, Covid, how to navigate that?? Hmmmmm... also she lives in Maryland and I live in NYC, hmmm... the weather is getting colder at this time so it's getting difficult to plan outdoor shoots.... WELCOME TO THE NEW WORLD OF REMOTE SHOOTING. Through the power of CLOS App, I was able to take high resolution photographs of Savanna while she was in her home and I was in mine. I never thought I would say that in my life but, here we are. Now in my humble opinion, NOTHING beats the real thing, but in a pinch, I dont think these came out quite bad! Thanks Savanna for being such a trooper during my first professonal remote learning experience.

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Suzy • Williamsburg, Brooklyn • “The hardest part about this time has been trying to find a work/life balance. Working from home in a busy industry (when everyone else is also working from home) sometimes creates a feeling that all I do is work, and that’s not the kind of life I want for myself. The combination of the pressure of the job itself + my personal standards for myself have definitely caused new patterns that are exhausting and not sustainable for the long term.”

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Sinetra with her husband Chuck, Daughter Moena, and grandchildren Damandi and Princess. Wantagh, NY. "Family are the people I love and support; I want to spend time with them and see them doing safe and well." #TheUniversalFamily

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Krista :: Brooklyn, NY

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The Caputo Family • Babylon, New York • “For us the hardest part is having three kids and all that comes with them. My oldest is in school and needs help with “distance learning.” My middle is in therapy and we’re trying to have him participate in virtual therapy sessions without him regressing. Plus, I’m breastfeeding the baby. I’m a mother, wife, teacher, therapist, nurse, chef, and maid. I would pay big money for ever an hour to myself.” ❤️❤️❤️So many feeling this pain right now. Thank you, Caputo’s!

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This mother daughter duo 🖤 Nya & Mantis breath art and creativity in every step and I was privileged to capture them during this crazy time, and on Mother’s Day!! Love you ladies! Brooklyn, NY. “For me personally lockdown due to Covid has not been particularly hard, I already spent most time on my own, so not much changed there. I have found it to be a gift to take this time and do internal work and allow trust to move in instead of fear. I’ve also kept working on art and projects which I had pending. It’s also been important to be there for friends who are having a difficult time. In terms of the protest, there is so much happening, I think we need investment in education, not just schooling, but on an emotional level. We also need people to pay attention and truly understand who and why they vote. To create awareness that it all begins at a local level, I’ve personally never paid much attention, but it all begins there and it’s time to do the work if we want real long term and effective change.”-Nya

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The Breitman Family :: Plainview, New York "The hardest part about this pandemic has been trying to explain it to my 3 year old daughter. When all this started, I don't think anyone realized how long the stay at home order would last. For the first few weeks, I would tell my daughter that her grandparent's house is "under construction so we can't go inside" and that other family members "have colds so we can't hug them". However, as the weeks went by she began to ask questions like "when will everyone get medicine from the doctor?" and "when can I go back to school?" The only answer I can provide is "soon" but unfortunately that answer is not good enough. If we as adults are feeling anxious and eager for life to get back to normal then the kids are definitely feeling it too. I may not be able to provide my daughter with better answers to her questions but I try to provide her with lots of hugs to make up for all the ones she's missing from loved ones."

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Lance and I have worked together for CBS News for over 4 years now. When I first started at CBS I was thrown into the ring to photograph 2 weeks in a row of the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention because their long time photographer was sick. I knew practically no one in News and he made the expereince so enjoyable! Those 4 years ago neither of us were married and sweet little Avery was just a glimmer in his and Janesia's eyes ;) Now we're both married and just look at that little munchkin! I love to watch families grow. xoxox.

Lance, Janesia, & Avery 💞 Queens, NY :: “With so much happening in the world right now, it’s been nice to spend meaningful time together. We are cherishing every second as our baby girl grows up, watching her discover new sights, smells and tastes — mostly from inside the apartment! These photos will forever remind us of an unprecedented time that our daughter will never remember, but we will never forget.”

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Sara and Kelsey :: Roscoe, NY

"One blessing in disguise for me during Covid-19 has been reconnecting with old friends. When I started my Social Distance portrait project I was so lucky to have friends reach out to me that I haven't seen in quite some time. My photography enabled me to "social distance" hang out with people I haven't been social with in any capacity for several years! For this one, I got to drive about 3 hours upstate and photograph my friend Sara and her wife Kelsey! They are just the sweetest and it was so nice to get out of the city into some fresh air during this trying time. Nature cures all." Thank you, ladies ;)

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My husband and I were having a quiet Sunday at home when we heard the call, literally, hundreds of people walking and chanting right by our apartment. It was like surround sound through every window from every angle of our apartment. Beautiful and impossible to ignore. I grabbed my camera and we ran down and joined them immediately. I realized quickly we joined a church group protesting in song and reading scripture. For us this impromptu moment turned into a beautiful day of love and togetherness. We're so lucky they came our way. Black Lives Matter.

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One of the perks of the Stay at Home order is I got to do this portrait shoot with my neighbor AAronda. Like many, she is isolated in her apt by herself, and has been victim to losing loved ones due to this deadly Virus that I hope we all continue to take seriously. Thank you AAronda for taking the time to share some words on your experience.

Aaronda :: Brooklyn, NY

"The hardest thing about the stay at home order is being stuck in one place: I cook, eat, work, meditate, exercise, pray, shop, socialize (via phone or Zoom of course) all in the confines of my home. This seems like all day, everyday. The days blend into one another which makes it hard to set boundaries. However, the most difficult part is watching those who are suffering from the virus 🦠, those who lost loved ones (including myself) from the virus 🦠 and those who are losing hope because of the effects of the virus 🦠. I wish could say to all falling into any of the categories, “keep the faith”. Thank you AAronda for sharing your experience! I will do my best to keep the faith ✨

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No one was prepared for Covid-19, all the more I dont think anyone was prepared for the racism against the Asian American community that would come along with it, at least I wasnt. In the midst of trying to stay sane along with everyone else, I set out to do some social distance portraits to stay in touch with the outside world and see how people were dealing. Jennine was kind enough to volunteer for a portrait and share some of her experience over the past few months.

Jennine :: New Jersey "The hardest part of Covid for me isn't even staying home, it's more frustrating that I can't easily leave as I like to because I've had to witness xenophobic behavior and mistreatment to myself and other's for being Asian. I think that initially people thought this was funny or a joke, unfortunately its not funny or a joke. Some people feel a certain/different way toward the Asian American community which is not right. I go out when I have to but I hate feeling that people might look at me or treat my differently."

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In our lifetime, This has undoubtedly been a time like no other. Everyone has had to deal with the struggles of Covid-19, segue to the heinous murder of George Floyd that sparked anyone with a pumping heart to mobilize back into action in a way we haven't before, all the while trying to find the time to celebrate the always important Pride Month that I feel has unfortuately lost a little bit of it's voice this year. We'll have to celebrate doubly hard next year!

But Benny and Andrew were gracious enough to pose for some portraits in our neighboring park in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. In keeping with the tradition of The Universal Family portrait project I asked them "What does Family Mean to you?" I also asked them to talk a little about their thoughts, feelings, struggles, and anything they thought people should hear. Here is what they had to say:

BENNY:

"Family to me means warmth, confidence, support, and love, I've lived here in NYC for over 11 years from Puerto Rico, so here I have created a circle of good friends that I can call family.

...Right now we fighting for our rights, our safety, our lives... Being Negro, Queer and Latino, has made me stronger, much more educated and more careful... I have been very loved and many people have approached me with words of love and support which is also appreciated.

Times are changing and I’m pretty sure that these changes are gonna be for good. Social media has been very useful and I have been involved in virtual parties as well helping friends of the community, and I have also received that love and that helps too. So I have been celebrating in this new way. I can be fine with all that is happening because we are doing things together and we haven’t stopped. These movements are helping all communities. Thank the universe for the BLM movement, and during it we grab our brothers and sisters of our LGBTQ community."

ANDREW:

"I didn't have a particularly good experience with my family growing up. There was a lot of late night screaming in my house, and I have some sleep issues because of that, so to me, family is a group you choose to form in which members support each other and build up one another. I don't think anyone owes a persistently toxic relative anything at all. That being said, I remain close with one of my brothers.

I think that beyond the immediate, vital, and incredibly urgent importance of protecting Black People from the institutional violence being committed against them each and every day, the greater work of dismantling white supremacy (and the police force protecting it) offers every person a very real roadmap to a radically different way of living that serves LIFE, instead of this bleak meaningless drudgery that most people are forced to accept under the current system. Black liberation is the key to unraveling the lie of the American Dream. Once white people accept that the U.S. was built on stolen land via slave labor and genocide, they can get to work forcing America to make good on her broken promises. Dismantling white supremacy means a better life for ALL people, not just the 1% in this country, who use racism as their greatest divisive tool.

I can only speak to the experience of being gay, enby, and white in this moment, and striving to be anti racist in my life. That being said, when I moved here in 2016, I landed in a group of "cool" white gays involved in the fashion industry and nightlife here who criticized and frankly bullied me for being "a social justice warrior." They also told me and a close friend of mine that our nonbinary gender identities were tragic attention-seeking behaviors, and that New York City was a post racial society - if we wanted to be social justice warriors, we should "move to Portland" and get out of New York, because people weren't going to tolerate it here. I had just lost my mother to cancer, and didn't know many people in New York, so it put me in the incredibly difficult position of either acquiescing to their version of reality or trying to figure out New York on my own in the middle of intense grief. To this day, I deeply regret not pushing back harder against them.

Partially because of the ubiquitous and exigent nature of 45, and partially because of the hard work and insistence of protest movements like BLM, I've seen the kind of rhetoric I first experienced here shift over the past four years. Gays who wanted to ignore the realities of injustice here in NY, realized that it wasn't going to fly anymore. I want to believe that this shift is because they experienced a change of heart and really came to empathize with people experiencing discrimination and injustice, but the cynic in me knows that for many, they've adopted social justice in the same way big corporations throw a rainbow flag up in June.

But, I bring this up because the people who held, and still hold, these grossly misinformed, ignorant, and frankly, harmful opinions are GATEKEEPERS to Queer culture here in New York. These are the people who are on the list for big parties, who DJ at the local bars, and who dance on the floats at Pride. They decide who has a voice and who doesn't. So, we have an obligation, each of us, to make sure that we hold people in our community accountable all year around, and not just during Pride."

:: Brooklyn, NY

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A Day in the Life of Quarantine Part 1 - Michele & Vitor, April 2020

"Quiet days at home used to be few and far between, now it seems it’s all we know. Funny how quickly human beings adapt. On a typical day we wake up slow, work from home, try to get in some exercise though the lbs are catching up, read a little, Vitor plays guitar... (more in Part II)" Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, New York

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A Day in the life of Quarantine Part II - Michele & Vitor, April 2020

"My home in quarantine Part II - ...we cook and eat A LOT, Yes I do some yoga and we do some running but it’s no match for the amount of food consumption happening in these walls... As day moves into night we find ways to create some sort of familiar social activity, a virtual happy hour, a casual card game (of Vitor kicking my ass...) before inevitably ending it in bed with the remote. The limitations of being in an apt doesn’t offer much variety. But all in all we are lucky to be employed from home, healthy, and safe. I wonder how your days are similar/different?? (Photos by Me & Vitor)"Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, New York

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These images feel relevant again today.. Women's March on Washington <3

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:: Samuel :: Nice, France :: Kids of The Universal Family :: (Photo by Michele Crowe)