Back when work was still happening, when people had these things called jobs, I was fortunate enough to assist Atlanta based photographer Kevin D. Liles on a shoot with the Braves here in my home state of Florida.
Kevin is a genuinely great guy. He’s friendly, funny, hard working, talented and a fellow seltzer addict like me. We’ve stayed in contact, and yesterday he asked me to submit an image for the ATL Photo Night Community Quarantine Photo Project.
The idea is to submit one photo of your quarantine experience. I gave it some thought and decided on a still life even though that’s not what I typically shoot.
My life has been whittled down to a weird kind of deja vu, I’m used to wandering around freely and exploring wherever I want to. Now I’m staying home most days and explore the inner space of my own head.
I get coffee beans from a contactless to go table that’s set up in front of a shop I used to go into almost everyday. I stress bake too many sweet things and marvel at how fast a baker’s dozen of anything can disappear into my body. I lean into Eastern thought and try to pay attention to my breath while thoughts race around my brain. I chase dopamine on my bicycle and listen to my heart beat in my ears as I run. I eat a little piece of a certain kind of mushroom most days to keep my demons at bay. I occasionally indulge my paranoia and wonder how rational or irrational my behavior is. I push seeds into the earth and cross my fingers for growth. I continue to keep my sourdough starter alive along with a million other strangers on the Internet. I burn incense and palo santo to clear out the bad energy that seems to accrue in a home when you spend too much time in it. I hang out with my friends online and sometimes it feels so real that I forget I haven’t been in a room with these people in more than a month. I lose lots of games of chess, but love the process because it takes time and time seems to be one of the things I have in abundance. I wonder about the future, I reflect on the past I do my best to “be here now,” and sometimes I even succeed.