Apart/Together
2020
Edition of 1
40”x40”
laser print and bio resin on wood

March 2020. After initial breakouts in China, coronavirus COVID-19 starts spreading exponentially in Europe and the US. Shelter-in-place orders are installed and enforced to varying degrees across Nations. The global economy crashes on March 16th.
On March 19th California is ordered to shelter in place which includes myself.
After a few days of confusion, I have an idea. The mental hardship stirred up my creativity. I start taking Virtual Portraits of people across the globe via FaceTime, video chats. The people I photograph are everyday people and we talk about the situation in their location, their fears, their plans and we laugh a lot. Because taking these portraits is a team effort, I can’t control the camera. And most people do not have decades of composing photographs under their belt.
I am freed from technical restrictions since I have no control over the quality of the call, exposure, or focal length of the lens. The portrait session becomes purely about directing and finding the right moment.
Here is a selection of portraits of Quarantinees from across the globe.

This series attracted the attention of the Washington Post Magazine in April of 2023 and I was assigned to photograph a body of work to be published in the magazine as well as on the cover.

One of the images was selected by the International Center of Photography and was part of the Concerned exhibition in 2021

Most importantly this exercise in a creative task was a relief for many of the subjects. It was a safe collaboration with a stranger, it was a distraction and it brought back some joy during dark times.