IMG_3622 Well, here we are, almost into May of 2020 which should have been one of the busiest times of my photography calendar. Key words "should have".  Prom and Senior shoots would have been completed, Spring sports teams would have been edited and orders submitted, my annual "Mommy 'n Me" shoot would have been scheduled and the last of the year's Senior Class would have been finishing up cap and gown shoots and I would be waiting on anxious Mommas that just couldn't make up their mind which picture they should send to Grandma in Seattle and which picture they should put on the announcement.  It would have been a mad rush to the finish line and quite a few late nights of editing and putting the finishing touches on preview galleries and assembling orders.  My new Model Team would be getting into full swing and their grand introduction on selected social media would be close to being announced.  Ah yes, Spring in the Studio is always one of my favorite times of year!.....But, snap back to reality and we are a nation, no a World at war with a nasty virus that not only is frightening the masses but burying them as well.  We have found ourselves in the middle of an episode of an old "ABC Sunday Night Movie of the Week"  where the plot and circumstances were somewhat fictional but left just enough to say "but what if"? The Cabrona ( yes I know I put a B in there) has done a number on us for sure as every day I see more and more articles and videos (some that mysteriously get deleted) that create discussion, debate and sometimes feuds among the people.  The question of who is essential and how dare our government regulate our freedoms and rights! The shaming, oh goodness so much shaming! Don't wear a mask, wear a mask, ditch the gloves, follow the arrows, how dare you not follow the arrows, oh my God did you just cough? Yeah, I'm mentally exhausted. Wait, am I allowed to say that? I mean, as a photographer I have been deemed "nonessential" so do I have a right to express what I am feeling? Right, I am nonessential. I am not allowed to go out and journalize this time in our lives. But that is what I do every time I take a photograph, ..I bring to life the journal.  Not allowed to capture, share or document the raw truth of what I see?  What others are seeing.  Feeling.  Believing.  Denying.  Excusing....  Accepting.  You see I am an artist.  I create through my lens. It is my refuge and my strength at times. At other times it is my weakness ...Today it is the latter.  Today I want to create and capture.  Today I will do it for me, and when I do things for me I am "essentially" staying sane which in turn keeps everyone I live with "safe"  ;)  .  To the Senior Class of 2020 may you never let them make you feel "nonessential".  May you always feel the importance of your place in life.  Blaze a trail,  leave your mark in this world, and always know that you are the class that history will Never forget. 

Stay safe my friends.  

**Featured photo is Alamogordo Senior Standout Isaac Duarte....