In America there are those with extreme points of view all over social media and television. On one extreme, there are some who say that we have to stay sequestered for years without question to fight COVID-19 and essentially become permanent hermits. On the other extreme, there are people who say that we are having our civil liberties being stripped away in favor of a communist regime that will also take away our guns. After all, the virus is only a variant of the flu, right?
Seriously, middle America can be a politically scary place. I venture to say the overwhelming majority of people in both hemispheres actually think somewhere in the middle. Curbing the spread of disease matters. Health matters. Safety matters. Economies also matter. Work matters. Life matters. The difficult part is doing the balancing act of slowing the spread of the disease and also keeping the economy and society running at the same time. I envy nobody in a position of power in any government tasked with the job of trying to strike that balance.
As we usher in the month of May, many cities in America are beginning the slow process of reopening businesses. I am not here to provide commentary on whether it’s too soon or too late, but I acknowledge that it’s happening regardless of what anybody thinks about it. Having said that, we owe a debt of gratitude to doctors, nurses, medical assistants, nurse practitioners, cleaning crews, first responders and healthcare workers of every kind on every corner of this planet who see both the 98% of the people who do survive COVID-19 and the 2% that do not survive.
Having gotten all of that off my chest, I am officially done with the theme of photographing things around the home while the quarantine is going on. It’s a nice trend, but it’s time to move on and resume the artistic direction I was trying to take before every news headline was dominated by this virus.
Orderliness and organization can potentially make interesting images. But entropy and disorder, urban decay and breakdown over time – that is often unnoticed in photography, though equal in potential. This image seemed appropriate for all our healthcare professionals. It’s actually a run down dining area behind a current Thai restaurant that I drove through earlier this week for lunch. At one time, the “Thanks” must have either had the image of the Muppets Swedish Chef or Futurama’s Bender in a chef hat, I’m not sure which.
At one time this may have been part of some restaurant that is long gone. But there’s lots of entropy here.
Shoot photos, even if you’re in a face mask, but not each other!
Adventures of a Photo Nerd 