COVID-19
Self-portrait.
I’ve been lucky. So many people have lost their jobs because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, many of whom also lost their health insurance, Yet I am still working. My newspaper sent everyone home to work remotely when Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz issued his stay-at-home order in March. Journalists were deemed essential employees, so we did not have to stay home. But Walz encouraged those who can to do so, and my management wisely agreed.
It’s not easy working from home, but it’s not terrible, either. As an editor, I have periods of dead time and periods where everything comes flying at me. This is often when the technology we use fails us, and the stress flies along with the swear words. But in between we can read or do other projects. I mostly read the New York Times and Washington Post, but also scan FaceBook and Instagram and occasionally, Twitter. I have learned a great deal about my fellow man. Much of is is good, but too much of it is not.
I also squeeze in short YouTube videos. I am learning to use Capture One Pro, which I like a great deal,, and I’m learning new tricks on Lightroom Classic and Photoshop. I also tackle occasional photo challenges suggested by photographers like Daniel Norton, Seth Miranda, Gavin Hoey, Mark Wallace, Vanessa Joy and Lindsay Adler. Sometimes, I just marvel at the work by working photographers I admire, like Rachel Neville, Haze Kware, and Alex Cuarezma, to name a fracton of the great artists out there. Or I ponder philosophical or professional issues presented by Daniel Norton, Sean Tucker and Hugh Brownstone.
In short, I am making use of my time. I am preparing myself for some future release, assuming I don’t fall prey to the disease. I look forward to the day when I can shoot again. Dance. Portraits. Martial arts. Fine art. I look forward to the time when I retire from the newsroom and write in a different medium: light. The stories I want to tell now are visual, composed of shapes defined by light and shadow, bent by pathos and passion into the human form.
