What Happened to Us in 2020?
First, Fam Jams definitely happened!
Second, many have asked about our lives, our little man, our business and what we’ve been up to in 2020 during the global pandemic created by Covid-19.
Our families are healthy, nieces and nephews are going to school virtually, jobs have been lost, stress has been an ongoing presence in everyone’s life and I’m guessing you have similar stories.
What’s Bruce Up To?
Our little man was not able to crawl as lockdowns began mid-March in Michigan. Now he’s running around like a big man, exploring the world and loving all things Christmas.
We were blessed with two great photoshoots this fall and winter, one at a Christmas tree farm where Bruce decided he like the idea of a tree. However, the middle photo says everything we have felt during 2020, doesn’t it?
The second shoot took place in our new home (yes, we moved, details below). Once again Amy came to our home, spent time with us, documented us over the course of an hour and was able to capture great images of our family.
What Is The Family Up To?
As you can imagine, our lives have focused around Bruce this year. If someone would have asked me in January, “Would you like to spend almost everyday, all day with your son this year?” I would have laughed at them and responded with, “That’s a crazy thought, it’s not possible…”
Well turns out it was possible.
I’ve been able to be there for nearly every nap, nearly every first (including his first steps) and nearly every bedtime.
We haven’t been able to travel and canceled several trips, most likely just like you did. We are hopefully travel will begin again in 2021 as we are ready to head out and explore the world.
Wait, You Moved!?! Where?
We began looking for the next place to live in the fall of 2019 when Bruce was born. We thought we could live in our studio for a while, but not long term. We looked and looked and looked. Eventually God handed us the answer to our prayers for the perfect place, right in the building we’ve been living in.
We moved down 2 floors to a 1 bedroom condo that is about 30% larger inside and has an outdoor balcony that overlooks the city. We remodeled the kitchen, main living area and bedroom and are extremely happy. We were able to rent our studio and in the end, purchased a duplex without having to own a duplex (two units in the same building).
How Has Your Business Handled Covid?
It’s been a rollercoaster to say the least.
The bad news is in person events are done (and will be for a while yet in Michigan).
That means we haven’t been out and about capturing events in Grand Rapids.
However, virtual events have exploded and we’ve helped clients improve the virtual event experience with video editing. In addition, we’ve added marketing to our line up of services.
It also has meant that people have realized their digital presence and “look” is more important than ever.
That has meant scheduling new portraits for clients left and right. I even wrote a post about it recently titled, “Why A Professional Portrait Is More Important Than Ever”.
We turned the second half of 2020 into a year of experimentation as well.
After learning about shipping containers to be used as incubators at Sparta Town Square, we jumped at the chance to open a studio INSIDE a shipping container.
We came up with a very creative name: The Shipping Container Studio.
I don’t know if your 2020 was as crazy as ours.
For some of our friends, the year has gone on like nothing has changed.
For other friends, they’ve experienced loved ones dying due to Covid, job losses, strained relationships with spouses (and kids), as well as other stressful situations.
If you’ve gotten this far in the post, know that the world is not going to end, you are going to be okay and if you’re not sure, I would love to connect with you about it.
On a recent personality test, a few of the major strengths in me were, “Maximizer, Communication, Positivity and Belief.”
I’d love to extend my time to any of those that would like to connect, either virtually or in person. If you are in need of someone to listen and engage with, I’m raising my hand and saying, “I’m here to connect”.