Shelter in Place: Day 366

I began this Shelter-in-Place series on this exact day last year, March 26, 2020. When I began to document my experience during the pandemic, I assumed it would be a short-term project, maybe two or three months. Little did we know back then how drastically our lives would be altered and the heartbreak that would weigh us down. I feel like crying now as I think about how painful this year has been. Our family will be getting our second COVID-19 vaccine on Monday. I am so very grateful for all the scientists who have worked around the clock to roll out a vaccine in less than a year. I am also thankful to all the volunteers who have stepped up to help in the vaccination effort (hooray to my neighbor and friend, Barbara)! The vaccine is a game changer for each of us, our country, and the world. The question I have now is, how will we move forward? The ability to meet in person with friends and family is a huge start but I wonder what the rest of our lives will look like. What are your thoughts? I believe this is a good ending point for my Shelter-in-Place series. Our family is already starting to emerge from this forced hibernation. I’m looking outward now, I have too. I’m ready.

Thank you for engaging with my posts and for your online presence over the last year. Your support has meant so much to me. My love to all of you and I will be back! Be well.

Shelter in Place: Day 363

In the practice group, Anatomy of a Home with Six Feet Photography, we explored the meaning of boundaries. This theme is expressed in many of my images from the pandemic as a delineation between the space I have been isolating and the world outside my doors. Without knowing it, I discovered that in many of my images, the picture traveled beyond the foreground through a portal or window. It mirrored the time I spent gazing out my windows wishing I was anywhere other than inside my house. This was particularly the case early on during the emergency-stay-at-home order.

Shelter in Place: Day 362

In the practice group I participated in, Anatomy of a Home at Six Feet Photography, we explored the theme of Boundaries. One of my favorite portraits of my dad hangs above my nightstand which I incorporated into this picture. In looking at this picture I consider how the pandemic has created an invisible boundary, this inability to meet with loved ones in person. As I look at the essence of my father in this picture I am also looking outwards towards the future, to a time when we will be with each other again. 

Shelter in Place: Day 361

Self portrait. This is my dad’s favorite chair to sit in when he comes to visit. Sadly, we haven’t seen each other since December of 2019. We have never been apart this long in my life. This is as close as I’ve gotten to him in 16 months. It has been a painful wait but I can finally say that we will be able to see and hug each other very soon.

Shelter in Place: Day 360

We’ve started to venture out of the house again on the weekends given that the rain has stopped and spring-like weather is finally here. Even though I have received my first COVID-19 vaccine and I know that this period of social isolation will ease up soon, being in the house most of the day, every day of the week, is getting harder. Being out in nature for a few hours makes me feel like I can breathe and that I am alive. Yesterday we visited the Island Ford Park in the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. Before heading out on the trails, my husband went to get our parking ticket and I busied myself by photographing through the glass roof of the car. More reflections.

Shelter in Place: Day 349

Last night, our practice group, Anatomy of a Home, from Six Feet presented. Frances Bukovsky, our facilitator had mentioned earlier in the week that it was coincidental that we were sharing work we have created in our homes during the pandemic on the one-year anniversary of our country’s shut down. I began this Shelter in Place series a couple weeks later last year, so I was unaware of the significance of March 10. I thought I’d mark this milestone in our country’s history with this picture. No need to elaborate on how I’ve felt about the past 12 months. As an aside, besides having to monitor Ellie every second of the day to keep her from getting into mischief, she also follows me EVERYWHERE! This reminds me of the days with young children when privacy was nonexistent and escaping to the bathroom untethered to do my business felt luxurious.

Shelter in Place: Day 348

For the last five weeks, I have participated in a practice group, Anatomy of a Home, that was facilitated by Frances Bukovsky from Six Feet Photography. I have been fortunate to have been a part of this group of incredibly talented and creative photographers from across the country as we have explored the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedrooms in our homes. Join us this evening, at 7pm ET for a discussion of our experiences and the opportunity to view images that have come out of this five-week journey. Register here.

The image above is part of my living room series. This rocking chair was my dad’s favorite place to sit when he visited.

Shelter in Place: Day 343

My husband, Tim, said I was nuts. I got into the shower and a minute later I called Tim to grab my camera. I dried my hands and shot several pictures of this scene. This may have been the first time I have photographed not only naked but soaking wet.

Shelter in Place: Day 341

Bath time for Ellie after she played with other dogs and rolled in the sand at Dog Beach in the Morningside Nature Preserve.

Shelter in Place: Day 340

Another shot from our visit to the Morningside Nature Preserve on Sunday. This picture, looking through the tangled vines and brambles towards the creek and open landscape beyond, mirrors my experience over the past year. I’ve spent a lot of time throughout my days gazing out of our windows. I open the shade in our bedroom upon awakening and get back into bed to stare out. I am searching for many things, beauty, light, color, life, but also answers which seem elusive.