After the first iteration of this post received a great response, I decided that hearing from five people wasn’t enough. I wanted to continue to provide a platform where fellow creatives could share candid thoughts about how their worlds have shifted. Here are five more stories from STL photographers that I appreciate and admire.
1) Whitney Curtis |whitneycurtis.com | Insta: @whitneycphoto
“It’s been mentioned in more than a few news articles that what we’re collectively feeling right now is a form of grief. We’re grieving for our pre-pandemic life because of the loss of social connections, safety and financial stability.
In early February my father died unexpectedly. The immeasurable grief I was processing in the month following his passing was suddenly superseded by the grief and anxiety I was feeling as a result of the way our lives have been upended.
My heart ached after seeing photos from photojournalists taken outside a nursing home in Seattle of family members visiting with loved ones through their windows. I realized how lucky my family was a couple of months ago to be able to visit my father in the hospital, hug him, speak with him in person, and later celebrate his life with a large group of family and friends.
I’ve tried to use this time to appreciate the things I do have — fond memories of loved ones past and present, a roof over my head and someone to share it with, and time to work in my garden and make homemade meals. I’m grateful to still have a little work from editorial news clients so I’m able to help tell the stories of how our community is coping with our current way of living.”
2) Jason Gray | cargocollective.com/jasongray | Insta: @grayphotostl
“I’ve been an artist for over 20 years. For some of those years, the source of my primary income overlapped my art production (specifically, the years that I was a wedding photographer in Chicago), but for the most part, I’ve found it more freeing to keep the two as separate as possible. I mention this because, until recently, my income over the last several years has been unstable, and I think that this has actually prepared myself and my family well for quarantine life— we are accustomed to financial shortfalls and how to manage them. That said, I am lucky to still be remotely working full time hours, and receiving my full paycheck (though, my wife was furloughed without pay at the start of the pandemic). If you are seeing any of the digital content from the Saint Louis Art Museum, you have probably seen some of my handiwork as the Image Rights Manager, and I am also working on two catalogues and an upcoming exhibition, among other things. So, definitely keeping busy there.
For my two boys, we are homeschooling, and this has certainly been something to get used to. I tend to be more structured in my routine, while my wife is less so, so it has been tricky to land on a curriculum that works well for the whole family. That said, I think that photography is a very useful skill for keeping kids engaged and learning. For instance, my oldest son and I set up a macro photography ‘studio’, which ended up being handy for lessons in both science and math. Other types of hands-on activities that have proved beneficial to homeschooling have included fishing at our local park (Carondelet Park), home improvement/building tasks, and ‘camping’ in the backyard.
In terms of my art production, all of my ongoing photo projects are on pause due to the shutdown (Photo Flood Saint Louis —which I manage— and Mound City Chronicle), but I’ve found an outlet in documenting my kids. I’ve been shooting this series in black and white, something I almost never do, and using a single camera with a 35mm focal length lens. I also relaunched a former business, KAMP, as a personal, outdoors-themed photography and writing project. So far, during the pandemic, I’ve interviewed Mike Clark from Big Muddy Adventures (who has been camping on an island in the Mississippi River to raise money for St. Louis workers and small businesses) and Brad Kovach, the Founding Editor of Terrain Magazine.
Getting back to normal is going to be a process, I feel like. There will come a time when the restrictions end, and everyone will want to immediately jump back into the way things were. Of course, that will be impossible to do spontaneously. In some ways, I think that transition will be even more challenging than the one that we currently face.“
3) Izaiah Johnson | izaiahjportfolio.com | Insta: i.zaiahj
“Hold On”
Over the last few weeks, I’ve found myself revisiting the Alabama Shakes song
“Hold On.”
It has been a subtle reminder to do exactly that — hold on, even with no end in sight.
Hold on to every video chat I have with family and friends that I can’t physically touch and hug. Hold on to my partner before bed. Hold on to every breath just a little bit longer before I exhale. Hold on to the fine moments in life as much as you can.
I have found myself sticking to my pre-pandemic daily routine as much as possible. I have been trying to keep my circadian rhythm intact - waking up and going to bed at my usual times. I have incorporated more time for myself as well. After I wake up, I stretch, drink a glass of water, work out, shower, make coffee. I try to read as much as possible throughout the day. I’m currently rereading ‘A Streetcar Named Desire.’
I am fortunate to be working during a time like this, but as I have said, I have been carving out more time for myself. Being around my plants has always caused me ease. I have been taking care of my plants more. They are my babies. I spent a lot of time catering to them. Trimming and repotting. Talking to them. Appreciating them. And trying not to over water them, HA. I have never really taken the time to photograph my plants, so I did a little family portrait with a few of them.
This pandemic has caused a myriad of emotions, a lot of uncertainty, and a plethora of conversations with myself while walking around the house and having a much-deserved second bottle of wine for the day.
So, if you are working from home or reconnecting with loved ones, or just taking it one step at a time, always remember to… hold on.
4) Amy Schromm | amyschromm.com | Insta: @schrommdotcom
“When the ‘stay at home’ order first happened, a pair of doves landed on my grandma’s plant that was right outside my bedroom window. A couple of weeks later, they had two babies. It was so cool to see how they made the nest, looked after their babies and taught them how to fly.
It was calming to not be so alone, and the pause brought an appreciation for things I would never have noticed in my normal hustle and bustle.
I take it as a sign that this storm shall pass and we are never alone when we have our loved ones love.”
5) Johnny Pelhank | appleseed-design.com | Insta: @johnny_pelhank_official
“Nothing’s really changed during this pandemic, except everything. Being a creative in this current situation has been kind of a release as well as a cage. I have so many things that I would rather be creating than just creating for work and this has given me the opportunity to finally explore those crazy ideas I had in my head. As a designer for the Saint Louis Art Museum, my job is to be creative with content we are given, but as an artist there are no boundaries. I am just now getting comfortable with having more room for no restrictions. The hardest part is just staying focused on one thing.
I have been helping my wonderful girlfriend, Caroline, create and brand her food blog taking photos and helping build and maintain her website and social media. Putting on my photography hat, I am able to share my talent to help her build content, but she makes all of the recipes. While I still have my photography hat on, I grab my son’s tub of LEGO blocks and start having fun with stop motion photography. And once I do that, a week has gone by and I have about two seconds worth of shots. And now, my crooked back is hurting from squatting on the floor in the basement — I mean my studio — so I move on to the next thing.
It’s a funny feeling knowing all this is happening right now and being in the crosshairs of something that may not harm you at all, or it could take on your whole blood line. It’s a little unnerving to say the least. My girlfriend is an essential worker as an RN at the John Cochran VA hospital, which does have active COVID patients at the moment. When she arrives home after work, I have already prepped the back entrance of our house for her to rid herself of her work clothes and beeline it straight to the shower. We hose down everything that doesn’t get thrown into the washer immediately with Lysol. My full work day doesn’t even compare to a minute of hers. She is working in the line of duty and risking a lot, but she cares way more for the patients than to let it stray her from her duties as a nurse. It’s amazing how resilient she is dealing with everything. I know she’s a great nurse, probably one of the best in the city, but I’m a little biased.
Caroline and I also have kids that are going through this. School has been called off and Zoom calls, class Dojo, and emails are how we communicate with teachers and school mates. It’s how we are communicating with our own kids as well. We made the decision for them to stay at their other parents’ houses in fear of Caroline bringing something home from work. This way, we won’t all get sick and spread it even further. I’d say that not being able to see them is the worst part about all of this. I’m already limited to the time I get to spend with my son Jaxon, so the longer this goes on, the harder it is coming up with reasons to keep them there.
It’s important to stay positive no matter what. Put out good energy into the world and let the people close to you know that you love them and are thinking about them. And know that people are thinking about you too.”