Suburban Decay

It’s just a matter of time. These images, which I began taking in the late summer of 2020, were certainly inspired by the global Covid-19 pandemic. So many restaurants and businesses are now in danger of having to close. Yet for some time prior to 2020 I had begun noticing more and more stores empty,…

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“We Hold These Truths”

Jay Samit, innovator, artist, author, and internationally-acclaimed public speaker, usually spends a lot of time on airplanes and in hotel rooms, but the pandemic has restricted him to his home for more than 200 days, and counting. He has used these months to deliberate on the cultural meanings and implications of our current global crisis…

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PL Recommends #1

In this new Pandemic Lens feature we present articles, essays, opinions, and commentaries about art created during quarantine. As interpreters of the societal mores, cultural events and moods of the time, artists lead us deeper within ourselves and allow us to confront, explore, process and cope with our thoughts, emotions, and feelings ranging from grief,…

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Dogs Rule

This past week I had a number of chance encounters around Cambridge that lead to some interesting conversations. This is my favorite from the batch—I’m a sucker for dogs in back carriers. And this Corgi, named Pizza, stole the show.  Probably way more fun for him than sticking his out of the car window. No…

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Two Masks, Two Backstories

Lately I’ve been stopping passersby during my photo walks and asking them why they chose whatever mask they’re wearing. The answer of this masked guy topped them all: “People are afraid of vampires, so they’ll stay back!” Actually, he was kidding. He said vampires have intrigued him for years, and proudly showed off the intricate…

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A Very Good Recipe

During an evening photo walkabout, I saw this creative sign in the window of Curio Spice, one of my favorite niche stores in Cambridge. When I’m shooting documentary photos for the Lens, I usually only post images of people, situations, and signage with a literal Covidian connection. But there’s a deep nexus between the pandemic…

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Empty Spaces, Part 1

Empty Spaces is an archive of this historic time and my reaction to it, but it is also an archive of my history and how it began to leak through my bones as I sat alone for months. I am a photographer, production designer and filmmaker—the common thread is that I am a collaborative artist.…

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Photo Foray into Two Parks

Some days I document the pandemic in my area, Cambridge, Massachusetts, by remaining stationary on a street corner or some other vantage point and just waiting for interesting people to walk, ride, or drive by. This technique is productive when I’m on a major street that’s teeming with activity. Other days I’m on the go,…

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America Disrupted

Since the pandemic began, I have been sequestered in my home in Los Angeles.  As an asthmatic, I have now been sheltering in place for more than 200 days (with the only exception being a doctor’s visit). Determined to find a silver lining, I chose to view the quarantine as a gift of time and…

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A Calmer Position

There’s a dead branch on a juniper bush along the edge of the sea,
above the shale gray rocks that at low tide,
the golden green sea weeds collapse upon.

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