Swimming In Solitude

This body of work deals with issues of seclusion, alienation and the dark tranquility of being alone. During a global pandemic, when isolation is mandatory, being alone is a conduit for self-contemplation and allows for a different and vast space to explore and discover more about oneself. 

I captured my images on my daily walks while in quarantine in Newport Beach, California during the Covid-19 Pandemic. I focus on subjects who were alone— neighbors who lived by themselves that sat on their porches, isolated beach goers, and empty scenes.  I used a deep depth of field and underexposed my images to create a rich and vast scene which contrasts with my small subjects in order to create an atmosphere that swallows the isolated subject. I wanted to create an effect that the person is swimming in the scene—swimming in solitude with a blend of commotion contrasted with serenity surrounding them.

There are a wide array of feelings that can be found in my images because there are many feelings that I face when I am alone. Isolation is a time when I can contemplate who I am and what my beliefs are without the influence of others. The familiar human contact has dwindled and has been replaced with digital interaction. This lack of human contact, I have found to be beautifully complicated. Quarantine has provided an extensive amount of time to travel down the twisting path of finding comfort in solitude.