Meet the photographer who is taking doorstep portraits during COVID-19

Bridgette Ibbotson, who lives a stone throw away from our Langwathby base, started taking photos of families on their doorstep for free to support GNAAS.

Bridgette began her project, titled ‘People in quarantine’, as a means to keep creative, however, after receiving so much support online, used the experience to benefit her local air ambulance service.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has left Bridgette, like many other photographers, out of work because of cancelled events this summer.

But she hasn’t let that stop her.

Making sure to keep with government safety guidelines, Bridgette has taken her camera with her on her daily walk to capture the surreal time we are living in.

“I realised photographs are important memories and are useful for documenting life events,” she said.

“I have been asked to take photographs of loved ones whom people can’t get to and also it’s something for people to look forward to. They’re looking out the window for you coming or stood on the doorstep waving. It really does lift your mood.”

In just a week, Bridgette has already raised £500 for GNAAS. The money will go towards the life-saving service provided by our critical care teams in Teesside and Cumbria.

“I chose GNAAS because they are a charity that relies on public funding.

“With the current government restrictions that are in place many large fundraising events have had to be cancelled and so the fundraising is lower than usual. GNAAS is something that anyone could need at any time and with the Langwathby base being so close it was a perfect fit.”