A Year Lost and Found

Twenty-four hours from boarding a plane for India (a trip of a lifetime) the world began its pandemic shut down. Politics, science and ethics collided, fueled by fear, ignorance, denial and selfishness. Many were able to weather the storm from safe homes with a measure of financial comfort, which allowed the experience to be a time for turning inward, taking stock and remembering what was really important. My wife and I were among the lucky in this regard.

Unable to teach and travel I turned our sun porch into what I came to call my Square Foot Studio. Basically, a simple apple crate atop an old wooden trunk, a piece of black felt and foam core, surrounded by wintering herbs and house plants. I set my camera on a tripod and followed the light as it changed direction and intensity throughout the day. 

I started photographing a loose collection of small animal skulls, shells and stones I found around the house but soon turned to the changes in the hot house flowers that found their way home from the grocery store. I became lost in their structure, leaves and flowers as they dried and came apart. The irony of photographing dying objects at a time I believed the decay in our institutions was keeping us from being our best selves, was not lost on me.

Using a macro lens allowed me to take small details and convert them into larger-than-life metaphors. With additional close-up attachments I was able to see and capture intense detail as the structure of the plant changed. My goal was to convert them into something monumental and beautiful. I think these large platinum prints demand attention, examination and remind us of the beauty found in everyday things.

As they began to devolve over days and weeks, petals opening, drooping, dropping, drying, changing as the light changed, my mood changed. These flowers became symbols reminding me that beauty is in everything, even if that object is quarantined, locked down, and isolated. I hope you will feel it too.

Tillman Crane

2021