This project was my final for Advanced Documentary Photography. Given the pandemic, our final project changed course because we were no longer able to follow through with our original final project of earning the trust of a stranger over the course of five weeks, and work with them to document the essence of a day in their life. Instead, my professor guided us to instead documenting the realities of our own home lives- our family and loved ones, or roommates, and ourselves. This project was a unique opportunity to instead of turning outward and document a stranger's life as we had been doing all semester, to turn inward and create a body of work that will forever denote this unprecedented time in my life while living through a global pandemic.
The process of crafting this project allowed me to think of this time as an opportunity to use my camera each day, as a kind of journal or visual diary. During such an anxious time in my life, where there were so many unknowns and so much fear, all I could do was pick up my camera and document what was happening. It felt like a way in which I could harness some semblance of reality and ground myself in the tumultuous moment that was March-May and continuing on today. While some days myself, and my loved ones, struggled to get by day to day, and struggled to continue on with my other coursework, I was allowed a project in which the sole purpose was to to document the struggle and the current moment.
Looking back now, it feels like such a surreal experience, and it still does today. Upon first glance, there is a sense of normalcy in the visual diary, but certain images start to give more and more clues as to what is truly occurring. I was able to capture some beautifully vulnerable moments. My photos reflect my dependence on family, loved ones, friends, solace, and isolation. Throughout this pandemic with my camera, I learned how to be alone more than I thought. I learned dependency on the self. While there are tones of comfort and unity, viewing these images also feels eerie, unsettling, uncertain.
It was so fulfilling to see how COVID-19 impacted not only myself but my peers, photographically. I discovered how vital it is to be present in this crazy time and appreciate being with family, even when I’m feeling unwell and going stir-crazy, locked up in my own bubble. While this visual diary is of my own experience, it also speaks to something universal that everyone is going through right now.
This personal project was adapted for a photo essay for The Michigan Daily titled Between Caution and Panic.
