The jets screamed above, piercing the skies so I escaped.
Cold plunge. Hot plunge. The breath ceased to an ocean's lull.
Curiosity felt the ground below.
The tractor lifeless.
The barber gone.
The birds mute.
The discarded plastic bag sailed in the wind like a lost spirit en route to the edge of Earth.
I went to a place. A place that wasn’t there.
Losing touch with your friends during the lockdown is one thing, losing touch with a friend that completely transformed you as a photographer and artist throughout the past few years is another.
I reconnected with such special friend, Thom Milkovic, after over a year. We took a stroll around the City in the late afternoon. Catching up. Reminiscing on life before the pandemic while capturing the vibe of a once bustling metropolitan that is just waking from a prolonged slumber.
Recently I challenged myself to photograph something seemingly ordinary and unassuming: A laundromat. This project was inspired by the book, In Praise of Shadows where the author [Junichiro Tanizaki] wrote, "If light is scarce then light is scarce; we will immerse ourselves in the darkness and there discover its own particular beauty."
The series’ subject is just three miles from where I reside in San Francisco. Prior to photographing the location, it caught my attention en route to the grocery as the early evening hours casted a soft light on the laundromat, exposing its unique, 1960s vintage character. However, as it sat empty except for the occasional customer on such quiet corner of the city, a feeling of melancholy could not be ignored as a once bustling metropolitan is slowly awakening from a prolonged slumber due to the pandemic.
I quickly jotted down the site location and planned a visit for the following day around the same time - early evening hours. The focus of the series concentrates on the intersection of the soft light and shadows, exposing the visual poetry of the laundromat that is a micro reflection of its surroundings crawling back to life.
Photographing this series was an opportunity to capture the remaining quiet, sleepy days of San Francisco as the mask mandate was subsequently lifted, propelling the city back to its pre-pandemic vibrance that never rests; but relics of Covid-19 remain.
