Marisa Nimon (above) has been operating Living The Dream Photography since buying a Red River business license in 2013. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she specializes in weddings, portraits and commercial photography.
As of the first half of the year, however, she’s been documenting her friends and neighbors and the sense of community that’s developed from staying at home.
“When things started to shut down, I noticed on Instagram that some of the photographers that I was following – one in particular – were doing something called #The Front Step Project in Albuquerque. I thought about it, then someone brought it up to me, then someone else. I thought ‘I’ll do this in my community.’
“I was a bit concerned that someone would say, ‘That’s not essential.’ My business is not essential, but I’m not running my business at the moment. I’m not taking any money for these portraits. I’m doing this simply to lift up my community.”
She is taking pictures of her friends and neighbors.
By the response, her project of documenting the families and individuals who are sharing this unusual time with Marisa is proving to be a positive community adventure, good for the spirits of all concerned. She is posting the pictures on her Living The Dream Facebook site. These folks in the pictures ARE Red River.
“I usually work by myself but lately I’ve been with my family at home all the time. It’s been different.”
She works each session by herself. Each portrait takes about five minutes and she’s doing them from a safe distance, typically about 20 feet away. She sends a text message to the family when she arrives. They sit on the porch or steps, including the family animals, for they have a very important place in the family dynamics.
She usually takes her truck which gives her a variety of levels for different heights and angles.
“This is no ordinary town and these are no ordinary people. These people are not my clients. These people are my friends and my neighbors. Each and every one of them plays a role in keeping our town moving and growing. These are the faces that will greet all of our visitors when they are welcome to come to Red River again.
“What we share in living here and working here is sacred. It certainly is to me. It actually got me a little emotional when I was looking at them (the portraits), seeing these families, these people.
“We may be suffering right now, but we’re suffering together and we’re fighting to protect one another and this place that’s so important and significant to so many people.”