MARIETTA PHOTOGRAPHER
JUSTIN HADLEY
FINDS THE HUMANITY OF
LENS AND SOCIAL DISTANCING 6FEET
By Justin Hadley
As an inherently social person who thrives on conversation
and company, it didn’t take long for the COVID-19
quarantine to start to take its toll on me. I went through
the activities that I think many others did in the beginning,
but panic baking, depression running and rage cleaning
only got me so far. The battery of feelings related to all of
the unknowns of the virus was overwhelming at times and
I needed a distraction. Inspired by the slew of incredible
photographers making impactful, timely quarantine-related
images, I knew I would be disappointed in myself if I didn’t
make the best of the state of things and create something
too. The CDC’s social distancing guideline of maintaining a
distance of six feet between each other seemed like it could
be an interesting jumping-off point for a portrait series, so
I set some parameters for myself: a 50mm lens, which most
closely replicates the way the human eye sees; a single light
on a boom arm to give the photos a cohesive look and to
ensure no contact; a six-foot stick to maintain distance and
compositional consistency; and, of course, a mask.
I worked on the process and look of the photos while
photographing the people in my home — my wife, son, and
mother-in-law — and then, nervously, began asking friends
if they’d be comfortable participating. I was surprised to
get almost all yeses. Alan was the first person outside of
my home that I photographed. As I was shooting, I slowly
started to realize that the process of making the photos
was just as, if not more, important to me than the photos
themselves. I was able to have a focused, in-person, one-onone
conversation with a friend at a time when we normally
wouldn’t be able to. As the project grew and I made more
portraits and collected more conversations, I started feeling
better about things in general. The looming topic at hand
was always where our conversations started, but we almost
always inevitably transitioned into more meaningful and
personal topics. I began to feel more comfortable with
sharing my feelings and trusting my friends with them. They
seemed more willing to do the same. Those conversations
felt safe and familiar, yet stronger and more precious.
There’s something about this pandemic and quarantine
that brought us together. I spoke with people online that I
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