I was able to saunter around Albuquerque for a few hours yesterday. An uncharacteristic cloud cover hung over the city, granting me extended photo time minus the usual harsh shadows of the high desert. Throughout this pandemic, I’ve had a deep desire to take a photo road trip… endless miles of road, a few cameras in the passenger seat. That is my release. Of course, this hasn’t happened in many months, and probably won’t happen anytime soon. So a precious escape around town, face masked and distanced from other people, will have to suffice. Thankfully, I live in a visually diverse city. Weird, wonderful Albuquerque. To quote The Stranglers… “I can think of a lot worse places to be…”
2020: 21 (Nine Postcards)
This series of photographs is the result of my reaction to the stay at home orders due to the coronavirus pandemic. I found myself experiencing a wide range of reactions to the situation. in order to help ease my mind, I started taking sunrise walks in my neighborhood here in Albuquerque, New Mexico. i would put in my earbuds and listen to a wonderful album i had stumbled upon, Hiroshi Yoshimura’s “Music For Nine Postcards.” The music is very much in the ambient style and dates from 1982. I found that the music had a calming effect on me, and it also helped me to relax my eyes as I surveyed the morning light, the flora just coming to life, the shadows cast and the brightness of the rising sun. The final set of images in the series are the result of these morning walks. I hope you can find the album on the streaming platform of your choice, and I would also suggest searching on youtube, as someone has posted the entire album there as well. I wish you good health and a still mind as we navigate this new reality.
2020: 17 (When All Else Fails, Make 'Zines)
I hope everyone is dealing as best they can while we ride this thing out. Working from home for the past six weeks has been a rollercoaster of emotions for me. I am grateful to have a job and a paycheck, and a house to work from. But the downside has been a slowly creeping ennui as each day seems to blend with the next, and the charm of not showering and working in sweats has long lost its luster.
Thankfully I’ve still been motivated enough to drag my butt outside most mornings, sometimes for a run, sometimes for a walk. Sometimes with a camera in hand, sometimes with just my phone. I have been careful to listen to my inner voice, and not feel that I need to stay creatively productive during this lockdown. I know many artists and musicians, and I have seen a plethora of reactions to this situation. Some folks have been very publicly sharing their personal process, some folks have shut down completely. There is no correct way for artists to deal with a pandemic. To put unrealistic pressure on ourselves to create some kind of masterpiece during all of this is an exercise in self-flagellation. At the same time, I personally have realized that my photography is something that brings my life meaning. More than my career, currently.
So it was with this mindset that I worked on two zine projects this week. They both happened organically. One arose when I was literally staring at the junk accumulated on my desk. The other was the result of a meditative walk, listening to “Music For Nine Postcards” (mentioned in my post last week.) I sat at my desk, beer in hand, Car Seat Headrest in my headphones, and over two work sessions I pounded out the layouts. Thanks to a discount sale at Magcloud, I was able to print one copy of each zine for a grand total of 12 dollars. Just one copy each. Not sure if there will be more, or if these two will be for my eyes only. A record of these times that will sit on my bookshelf for years to come.
Whatever way you are dealing with the crisis is the right way. There is no judgement, no productivity shaming, no advice, no wrong way. There is only your way. Be OK with it. And stay safe.
2020: 13 (The Ties That Bind)
I will not dwell on the doom and gloom that seems to be floating around the internet. I’m trying my best to socially distance, stay home, focus on the positive, stay entertained, stay entertaining, love more, worry less… and above all else KEEP CREATING. As artists, this is important. Put truth and beauty and art into the world, if only to offset the pain, suffering, fear and death. As an existentialist, these things are always present in my mind anyway, why wait for a global pandemic to rouse it?
“I get the news I need on the weather report.”
I spent a good many hours this week focusing on my next self-publish project. I won’t give too many details, as I’m still trying to assess the best time for its release, but I will share that the main book will be a 12 inch square, with a Japanese, hand-stitched binding. It took my two solid days of work to bind the 25 copies of the book, which included hand drilling holes for each individual page, then threading and sewing the finished, collated pages. I found the process at turns tiring, meditative, and ultimately, very rewarding.
It helped my fill some hours at home; I am grateful that I have a safe place to ride out the pandemic isolation. But I am also grateful for modern technology, especially video chatting, which I did numerous times this week. FaceTime with my family, Skype with overseas friends, and Zoom Happy Hour with local friends. Tuesday night was extra special, as it was the first “virtual” gathering on the local, photo nerd, camera geek, self-publishing happy hour. It is so nice to have familiar faces tasing a beer in unison, even if we are separated at home. It is so important to foster the ties that bind us together. Its really the only way we are going to get through the current challenges, and prepare for the inevitable “next time.” Stay well. Stay safe. Stay home.
