Just after the country rapidly shut down, I left an already eerie NYC and came home to Virginia, thinking I would be home for a month or so. (Oh, how wrong I was.) I hadn’t packed too much, mostly the most comfortable clothes, books, and what I needed to work from home. I also brought my camera, though, and a couple of random rolls of film I had lying around. Throughout the spring, I periodically took photos on a roll of Kodak Gold 200. Unsurprisingly, there was not much to photograph during a stressful, scary time when I was barely leaving the house or doing anything exciting inside, so this roll was mostly a few outdoor moments and a handful of stray, random photos at home.
A huge benefit of coming home was that I had access to a car and more outdoor locations. Other than walking every day near the house, we could also go out to some of our favorite parks — when they were open, at least — to get more fresh air and stay away from other visitors. Our first outing was to Great Falls in late March, when it still looked and felt like winter, and it was luckily pretty empty that day. I hadn’t been to the park in years, and it was a perfect but safe way to get outside.
My brother, Robby, became my only available/somewhat willing photo subject — he often was not up for it. However, he did want a few photos in his baseball uniform after his senior season was canceled.
The Manassas Battlefields have long been my family’s go-to spot for walking (and photos — I’ve done many a photoshoot here), which continued throughout this period of lockdown. The battlefields have so much space that you can easily go and keep your distance, even during “normal” times; plus, there’s usually lovely lighting and a nice sunset here. On one evening walk, I remembered to bring my camera along for the photos below.
