Leaping Forward

    Where will it lead next? 

     In my world, in my news-gathering capacity, presidential primary rallies and debates were cancelling, commercial projects in planning stages stopped, the work was starting to dry up. Not what you want to see as a freelancing professional.

     While staying safe, I have to find a way to keep moving, keep sharp and keep expressing myself creatively.

     As I work through my idea loosely defined as Portraits at a Distance, I am finding some joy. Some artistic satisfaction. Some renewed recognition that in crafting art, it's not just accomplishing a task within a well-defined set of rules, it is always a journey of keeping an open mind and discovering paths and methods of expression.

     It's a journey of remembering to listen to the inner artist voice and hear when it expresses interest in something that might, at first, appear to be a left turn, away from the project. Listening to that voice has led me to many satisfying images that, I am discovering,  were an integral part of this path for me from the beginning.

     In doing a project like this as a personal project, it is about what I'm motivated and inspired to photograph and how I'm inspired to photograph. That's the whole ballgame.

     There was trepidation as I tried to form a methodology during a time when there is so much uncertainty and suggested practices for safety, while also trying to be sure I'm meeting people where they are in their comfort levels.

     For me, my safety rules evolved.

     I've made rules for myself to cut down on the uncertainty of which is the right thing to do. I just do it. I don't try to reason my way to doing less or suggest to myself that I'm doing more than necessary. I just do it.

     I wear the mask now if there is even a chance I might drift inside the six feet while working outside, if I'm in a back yard, that mask is on all the time. On this project I try to avoid going indoors unless absolutely necessary and even then, not unless I'm able to keep distance, keep my hands clean and keep my mask on. In 90 percent of the occasions so far, there has been another way, avoiding going inside someone else's space.