The United Kingdom is easing lockdown after a largely successful vaccine roll-out, but the trying era of extreme social distancing and stay-at-home measures isn't going to just slip off into history, not if London photographer Stace Gwilliam and her Stace Photography imprint have a say in it.

From May 17 to June 27, Stace Photography will be displaying their photography collection which features residents of Milton Keynes under Lockdown in an exhibition at the MK Gallery.

The collection is a series of shots of Milton Keynes residents taken on their doorsteps during Britain's first coronavirus lockdown in March 2020.

Ms. Gwilliam and her team had gone round a number of different estates in Milton Keynes with the aim of documenting the moment through photographs by taking shots of "a range of diverse people" under lockdown on their doorsteps.

"We had families, single people, couples, elderly people," she said of the experience that brought the moments together as a real community project.

Lifting the spirits of disheartened Londoners overwhelmed by the novel lockdown was also a priority for the Stace Photography team as team member David Lewis points out. 

"Lots of people were feeling down, being furloughed and locked in so we thought it would be a nice way to engage with them - go to their doorstep and have a bit of fun," he said.

"They're all very genuine moments, they're not forced in any way."

According to Ms. Gwilliam, she took on the project to "share moments of positivity" during the pandemic and create happy memories for the families and individuals who took part in the photography sessions.

"We wanted to bring a more positive shone on lockdown as we were all fed up with Covid-19 news," she said.

And this they did! 

Some of the residents who participated in the project spoke of how much fun it brought to their sedentary lives and how it helped them appreciate the lockdown moments spent with family.

"We just had some fun," participant Pete Pitfield said. "It's nice to see that we are a happy family and it's so nice to the rest of the portraits. The sheer joy that people have for their family is a great thing."

With their photography project now up for exhibition as people are once again easing back into public life and unrestricted movements, Stace Gwilliam couldn't contain her excitement.

"I didn't think it would ever get this big," she said. "I'm happy to see it's all come together really nicely."