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Porch Portraits

We are all in this together. The front porch portrait series began as a way to record history and connect people during this challenging time, providing everyone a sense of belonging to a bigger picture. The photos have a feeling of connectedness. We are both separate and together, simultaneously. The process provides an opportunity to those photographed to exhibit their optimism, providing an encouraging insight into the human spirit, which at it’s core, is positive and hopeful.

I began the series by placing notices on Next Door and Facebook and reaching out to community leaders to locate subjects. The project took on a life of its own, with referrals streaming in from many sources. The actual photo process took just a few minutes, and everyone was emailed an image within a day. There was no charge for a portrait which I think allowed me to more accurately represent the demographics of the Twin Cities.

In total approximately 550 portraits have been taken including the families of Governor Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Twin Cities Council Members, Adam Levy and Paul Metsa.

It was an honor and privilege to be able to capture this history in real-time. The Minnesota Historical Society has archived the entire set of portraits for future research and a successful Kickstarter campaign allowed me to publish a limited edition book that can be ordered on this site.