I was very fortunate to have a Sunday 1A cover portrait for my first assignment freelance assignment with the Detroit Free Press. The assignment was an environmental portrait of Sharon Chapman who lives on the Huron River in Hamburg Township, an area that has a 56% of major flood risk. The 3-5 inches of snowpack melt would contribute to the flood risk, where a 2 inch snowpack in March is already considered high. The high school teacher has no flood insurance on her home and worries the snowmelt might severely damage her home that sits only 2 inches above the flood plan.

I got lucky that the assignment fell on a day where it was not snowing (rare for this past winter), but on a warm sunny day where her dirt road was covered in snow melt and puddles.

Sharon Chapman stands on her street Shannon Dr., a private road in Hamburg Township on Friday, March 14. Due to the high temperatures the snow melt has turned her street into a river of running water. Chapman lives in a flood-prone area along the Huron river. Tanya Moutzalias/Special to the Free Press

And more published work featuring #porchkitty: