Fra’s lockdown photos bring a smile in these long days
Dundalk photographer Fra Lucchesi is helping to bring families parted by travel restrictions closer together by a lockdown photography project.
Fra, who hit the headlines earlier this year when his photograph of three young friends at the Black Lives Matter protest at the Market Square went viral, came up with an idea of taking portraits for people to share with their families who they can’t see due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
‘When this latest lockdown started, I was looking for something to do that would help people,’ he explains. ‘ The only thing I can do is take photographs. I realised that there are a lot of people who haven’t seen their families or loved ones lately and I thought I would be nice to take pictures and give them a smile.’
Fra, who specialises in wedding photography and portraiture, posted his idea on Facebook on Friday October 23, writing: ‘So for anyone that might be struggling to see a friend a lover a family member or even a pet... let me know and on my daily walk (as long as its within the 5km) I will call into them and take a picture at their front door, back garden anything that is within Social distancing rules.. have a chat and see how they are doing and send you the picture later that day. This will be my gift to anyone that asks so let’s see if we can get a couple of nice smiles going around the place.’
Hardly surprising, he soon found lots of requests in his inbox, and has already taken several photographs in response to requests from people at home and abroad.
‘Ì’ve had a few people here asking for photos for loved ones abroad while some people who are living abroad want to see there family here.’
‘ This has been a hard year for everybody, so I thought this was away of giving people a boost. In my own work, I’ve had a lot of cancellations and was looking for something to do, for something to get me motivated into taking photos again.’
Fra says he had seen other doorstep or back garden photography projects during the first lockdown, which inspired him to embark on something similar - but one which would bring joy to other people as well as giving him something to do.’
‘Some people are struggling as they haven’t been able to see and I thought why not give them something? I’m not doing this for me, I’d doing it for other people.’
He adds that he is complying with all social distancing requirements as he takes the photos outside people’s front doors or in their gardens, adding that the autumn light is ideal for getting nice portraits.
There has been a great reaction to the photos. Emer Moran, who lives in London asked him to take a picture of his parents Jackie and Marion. This is such a gorgeous pic! I’m over the moon thanks so much Fra!’, she commented.
To contact Fra visit his photography page on Facebook.