#shelterinplace is getting old, isn’t it? As a photographer, it sure could cramp my style. Yet it need not mean I am stuck. In fact, being limited to a small footprint and unable to visit the many places that attract my wife and I as photographers can serve as a framework for improvement. 

I admit that the anxiety of this season of #COVID19 makes personal growth difficult. But I have always found one effective remedy for anxiety is getting outside on photowalks. And instead of hopping in the car or riding the train to the city, we are kept in the bounds of our local community–at a safe distance from others! 

At first I was struggling with the same subject matter, over and over. I mean, even if we walk for a few miles in different directions, the fact is that we pretty much know the area. Or do we? As a photographer, cultivating curiosity and new perspectives are essential qualities. 

So I am trying to master a place. Specifically, our little Chicago suburb of Cary. The Main Street is nice, though it is a single street with few other roads that aren’t residential. It’s a one-horse town, so-to-speak. Therefore, I must ask myself: do I know this town? Even the single Main Street view can have variations of light, activity, weather, and so on. Perhaps the life in lockdown is a gift–a way to overcome obstacles of the mundane and familiar–and capture the life of a place. Perhaps. We will see.