Could life under quarantine be colorful and joyful, instead of boring and monotonous? The answer is “yes” and this has been proven by Ivelina Cholakova’s new photographic project. Smiling families look out of windows and balconies in unconventional meetings from a distance, showing that when we are close to the people we love, things are not so scary.

"The idea actually belongs to photographer Adas from Lithuania. He used a drone to shoot portraits of people quarantined in his town of Vilnius. Some of the photos were staged as some people were dressed as they were getting ready for the beach and others pretended to be riding bicycles on the balcony,” Ivelina Cholakova says. “I liked the idea very much and I wanted in this way to preserve the memory of this period of time when Bulgaria was under quarantine. I asked friends and people I know in Sofia to participate and I used long-range lenses so I could take photos of families from the opposite sidewalk, while they are standing on the balcony, or in the yard of the house they live in."

So many of her friends and clients responded, that she did not manage to reach everyone who wanted to participate in the project. But she hopes to have the opportunity to continue shooting while this difficult for everyone experience lasts. What families did she see through the lenses?

"I saw them happy and united together; they were all positive and smiling and seemed calm to me, and I sincerely hope so, because when people are together, they can overcome such crises easily," Ivelina says, adding that she was most impressed by the mutual joy of these meetings. “I had not seen these people for a long time, so the emotion for both sides was huge. Sitting at home, we don't have any social contacts outside the Internet and seeing someone live and share a few words with them is a real pleasure.”

The photo session also includes random neighbors and the happiest people in the photos are children – hugging their pets, or showing colorful drawings and messages like "Stay at home", "Be calm" and more.

"I would urge people in isolation to stay at home so that we can get through all this faster so it remains in the past," Ivelina Cholakova says. "Someday we will be looking back and hopefully telling stories about this experience with a smile."

English: Alexander Markov