I'm thrilled to once again be the event photographer for Silver Spring's very own Taste the World in Fenton Village. This one-of-a-kind festival showcases the best Silver Spring has to offer, including dozens of locally owned restaurants, coffee shops, and bars. 

To accommodate COVID restrictions and ensure the safety of guests, workers, and restaurant owners, this year's festival will take place over an entire week. Patrons will have the option to dine outdoors, or order carry out or delivery. I'll be at the festival Sunday, May 16 and again on Friday, May 21 -- and I'll be there with my camera! Stop by, say hi, and you may even end up on Fenton Village's website!

Patrons who visit Fenton Village restaurants three times throughout the week of May 16 - 22 will be entered to win cash prizes. Guests simply need to take photos of their receipts and email them to fentonvillageinc@gmail.com

2020 has been a wild and crazy year full of challenges and heartbreak. It may feel like all hope is lost and all love is gone, but I know that is not true. I know that because of families like the Rodriguezes. This entire family is so full of joy, and their loving spirit shines through in these images. It was an absolute pleasure working with them!

I love working with families, but I especially adore working with moms and daughters. There's just something special about the bond a mother shares with her daughters, and I was honored to be able to capture that relationship in these images. Aisha and her daughters Noelle and Cece were delightful to work with, and their loving, fun spirit really shines through in these photos!

Sligo Creek Parkway has always been a haven for me. Walking along the nine-mile trail offers a chance to slow down, collect my thoughts, and be with nature. It also offers a chance to connect with those who love the parkway as much as I do. That's certainly the case with the Habicht Family.

For this lovely family of four, Sligo Creek was a discovery made during the pandemic. They have spent the year exploring the parkway and couldn't wait to show me some of their favorite spots during our time together. It was at one of those spots, near a favorite boulder, where a Jonna Michelle Photography first happened: daughter Abby lost her tooth DURING our session! It was such a simple, beautiful reminder that even in chaotic and troubling times, life still goes on.

Fall is always a magical time -- the crisp air and colorful leaves make me want to spend every waking moment outside. I couldn't have asked for a better start to the fall family photo season than by spending time in Sligo Creek with the Arnett Family. Mom and Dad Gina and Josh were so fun to work with, and little Marty is just a doll. I especially loved how this family included grandparents in their photo session as well. Look for more from Jonna Michelle Photography coming soon!

I'm thrilled to be able to share these images of Baby Alice and her proud parents, Maggie and Zack. We spent last Sunday afternoon together at their home in Mount Rainier and, as you can see, everything was gorgeous... from the soft, golden light to Maggie's radiant cream dress to the way baby Alice slept so comfortably in the baskets we set her in. What stuck with me the most from this session, however, is just how at ease Maggie and Zack were in their new role as parents. I wish them and baby Alice only the best.

I'm thrilled to be able to share this sneak peek from the elopement/wedding of Erin and Vinny! These two were supposed to be married June 13 in New Mexico, but the pandemic had other plans. Instead of postponing, Erin and Vinny kept their original wedding date and said their vows surrounded by close friends and family at Lee District Park in Fairfax, Virginia. It was a beautiful day for a beautiful couple! I wish these two the absolute best!

What is your profession/involvement in the community?
I’m a letter carrier -- 18 years in the game carrying mail.

How has your life changed since the community has been impacted by Coronavirus?
I’m still employed, still making money, but I’m working a lot of overtime. There’s also so much distancing and being alone. People used to be close like family, but not anymore.

There was a funeral for my nephew, who was 21, yesterday. I couldn’t even go in. I had to watch it on my phone. It was really sad. It was senseless for him to die during this pandemic – and for a dirt bike. There are so many people out there just crying and mad, and his mother just kept passing out. We couldn’t even be there together for her because of social distancing.

Are you working more or less?
I’m working more. I’m working every day.

Being on the front line, we should be getting hazard pay.

What people don’t realize is Fedex, UPS, Amazon – they’re bringing their packages to us so in some ways we have more volume now. My usual shift takes 7 hours and 45 minutes. But it’s longer now because of social distancing. We only have 45 minutes to pick up our mail at distribution before we head out on our routes. That doesn’t give us enough time to get everything, so we often have to come back and get the packages that weren’t ready the first time. That also means the streets you’ve been over you might have to go over again, so sometimes it feels like double the work.

I love my job and I love my route and everyone on it. I’d rather deliver mail in residential areas because I’m more connected with the people. I don’t like doing businesses and business routes because they might be closed or they might move.

What are you most afraid of?
Losing a family member to this pandemic, old or young. As long as you take your vitamins and drink warm tea with lemon, use Lysol and wear your mask and gloves, and you should be okay.

What are you most hopeful for?
I’ll be glad when this is over. But I’ll probably still wear my mask. It’s almost like a post-apocalyptic dream. It’s getting to that point, anyway.

What has been the most challenging part of this experience for you?
I really can’t say it’s a challenge. There’s just a different way we do things. You just have to adapt – adapt to change.

Is there anything – even a tiny thing – you enjoy or like about sheltering in place?
Everything is the same to me. It’s just work. I just like being out and about, and being my own man while I’m one delivery. Especially when the kids see me – you gotta smile. They see me and say hey Mr. Ricky! I’ve watched kids grow up on my route. I’ve been on my route since I’ve been in the post office.

What do you think society as a whole will learn from this experience?
It’s hard to say. People are people. You have to change yourself if you want to change society. Self-preservation is the best teacher. If you aren’t willing to change yourself, society is never going to change.

How are you coping with stress/taking care of yourself?
I get up. I take my vitamins. I drink my tea. That’s the first thing I do. Then I prepare myself for work. I make sure I keep a can of Lysol with me at all times. I don’t spray just to spray – I spray when I need to.

When future generations ask, what will you tell them about this time in your life?
It’s just different. This is more like a curve ball. The pandemic started in February and trump just ignored it. I thought man, all this fool cares about is some votes?

That’s the crazy part – if this guy gets re-elected we’re really gonna be in trouble. Trump is a real estate celebrity con man who conned his way into office and he doesn’t know a damn thing about politics. Then someone tells on him and he fires them. All he wants is 'yes' men. Ever since he got impeached it gave him super powers to do more dumb shit.

I need serenity right now cause it isn’t happening here. It’s like we’re living in a panic, but without panicking. This is only the first wave – we’ll probably get a second strain of this corona. Right now, no one can afford to get sick, have accidents, or injuries. You go to the hospital and end up with the virus all because you needed some stitches. Healthcare is failing in the U.S. the only thing that matters in this world is money. You need to survive. Money isn’t everything, but you can’t do anything without it.

What would you like your friends and neighbors in Silver Spring/Montgomery County to know?
Keep your family close. Tell them you love them every day, and just look out for each other. 

What is your role/involvement in the community?
Musician and music teacher.

How has your life changed since the community has been impacted by Coronavirus?
Probably in a way very similar to most others. I’ve had to isolate myself from society and refrain from leaving home as much as possible. I’m fortunate enough to have a balcony that gets direct sunlight in the mornings and Sligo Creek Park nearby when I need to stretch my legs, though I probably shouldn’t have mentioned that last one. I’m naturally introverted, but I do like taking my walks.

Are you working more or less?
I’m working less, definitely. Relying on oneself and different sources of income is one of many lessons we can glean from this whole ordeal.

What are you most afraid of?
Obviously, the transfer of the virus is immediately concerning; to myself and to others. Having an ongoing global pandemic is scary, yes, but crises are a great time to observe the priorities of any person or group. When the house is on fire, do you first grab your beloved four-legged companion or the jewelry box? That kind of thing. We have governments omitting crucial information about the pandemic to save face, the media creating stories around the virus to influence how people act and have them depend on the information dispensed daily. Every other ad I see is a company capitalizing on people’s fear with their marketing so customers associate their new mode of living with purchasing a product and I see people freaking out over various aspects of the pandemic and acting like fools. I can go on. More directly, I’m concerned about other people’s ignorance and what they feel they are justified in doing because of it.

What are you most hopeful for?
I’m hopeful that, despite all of the messiness and tragedy, I can come out a little stronger and capitalize on all this extra time I have on my hands.

What has been the most challenging part of this experience for you?
Remember that thing about people’s true priorities coming out during a crisis? The same is true when you have loads of free time and it applies to me as well. You have two months of time with which you can do whatever you want with an effectively infinite source of information at your disposal. What you do with that time says a lot about you and how subject you are to your own vices and patterns. This is a good opportunity to apply self-discipline and learn that new language, that new skill, get fit, read those unread books on your shelf, start that new business, finish that work of art, etc. Those are all things that I’ve wanted to do with my quarantine time and I’ve made varying degrees of progress on all of those things. The challenge, for me, is maintaining discipline so that I can capitalize on this time the best way I can. Also, I’m a guitarist and I got a repetitive stress injury just before quarantine started. The irony is not lost on me.

Is there anything – even a tiny thing – you enjoy or like about sheltering in place?
I mentioned before that I’m an introvert by nature (and pretty misanthropic at that). I don’t suffer greatly from prolonged social isolation and, as I said before, this is a good time to become sharper. Even my cooking’s gotten better. My cat seems to enjoy the extra pettings, too.

What do you think society as a whole will learn from this experience?
Judging by what I’ve seen, they won’t. Not the average person at least. Hopefully, fewer companies will rely on China for production and more governments will think twice about globalizing so liberally, but I doubt it.

How are you coping with stress/taking care of yourself?
I’m not too stressed by the situation. Isolation is more of an act in consideration to others who would be severely affected by the virus. In fact, I’ve had kind of a morbid fascination with watching how a global pandemic spreads in real time. The internet’s cool, dude.

Also, if anyone who reads this wants to take one positive thing from what I’m saying here, let it be this: work out! Let’s be real and say most of us don’t take care of our bodies enough. Even if it’s just some squats and some push ups, being stronger has a million benefits that people more knowledgeable than I have written about extensively.

When future generations ask, what will you tell them about this time in your life?
Liquor stores stayed open and we already had the internet. I was okay and spent the time in relative comfort. Healthcare workers and people who contracted the virus probably have more horror stories to tell. Even then, we have lots of modern solutions to soften the blow. Within the spectrum of possibility for pandemics, this isn’t so bad.

What would you like your friends and neighbors in Silver Spring/Montgomery County to know?
Mind your personal space and use this time as an exercise in consideration to others. I’ve seen too many people without masks pass by others nonchalantly. I’ve even asked someone not to walk so close to me and then proceeded to walk even closer to me. On the flip side, don’t be rude and try not to come from your ego when you see the need to correct someone else or when someone else needs to correct you.