Well, when we are stuck at home alone, what else should we do? I decided to create a quarantine photo series of activities that my husband and I do during our week. We've been inside with each other for six weeks straight. My husband pointed out, it is the most time, uninterrupted by leaving the house for work, that we've been together. And honestly, it's been nice. I know that statement is extremely privileged. We are immensely privileged to be at home, healthy, and be with one another.
We are good about giving each other space when we need it, but during this time we've harvested such sweetness towards one another. Because we are not exhausted from our constant running, we are kinder, more patient. We know that things are tense, so we are more gentle, more understanding. We serve one another in ways we'd neglect to before. There are obviously many negative things about COVID, but that is one positive.
We enjoy a cup of coffee together in the morning before going to our separate places to work. On Sundays, we rest and read. Yes, Ben is reading Capital by Karl Marx and I’m enjoying Garden City. We enjoy a drink on the couch while watching Tiger King or “fighting” over what Netflix movie to watch. We play games together, okay well mostly virtual games, but we are getting into more board games! We cook together, but really Ben just cooks and I do all the dishes, well almost all. We enjoy walks with our dog, Hamish. And occasionally, we do absolutely goofy things to cheer ourselves up. Sometimes we are quiet and reflective and other times we are loud and rocking out to Orville Peck, Post Malone, or Hillsong Worship; yes, all very different. This is our quarantine life, well, the pretty parts at least. The rest is just mundane living and working, and who wants to see that?
Yes, the photographs below do depict what we do during out time here at home. But remember, not everything is as it seems. I don't want you to think that we are the perfect couple who just enjoy every second together and do not have quarrels, daily mundane tasks, or just down right not pretty moments. That's life. We have our faults, our struggles, our boring moments, our stressed moments. But we do try hard to find the joy in the circumstances that we've been given.
I've missed photographing immensely during this time. Creating these photographs brought me so much joy. It reminded me of the importance of documentation, of creating authentic moments to capture, and sparked my passion to photograph once again. So, if you are out there wondering how in the world I convinced my husband to participate, I told him it would be fun, fast, and he could have a beer! For most of my at home lifestyle sessions, the guys do not want to be in photographs. But I assure them that it will be relaxed and fun, at it is! Just like my sessions, I gave us prompts and enjoyed the process.
So here is my quarantine photo series, captured using my camera, a tripod, and an interval timer.
All my love,
P.S. There are twice as many "outtakes" as photographs that made the cut. To check out our hilarious (and more realistic) photographs of our bloopers, check out my Facebook Page or Instagram!
