Personal projects provide much needed therapy and relaxation while still being creative...

pm-r · May 1, 2023

My Mom was diagnosed with a terminal brain cancer last May. She has been through a ton starting with surgery, radiation, and chemo. She is now diminished a year later, but amazingly still alive. Rather than tell the story of her downfall physically, I've been shooting my parents a lot, spending time together, eating meals, and just being in love at 85. I've been spending a week or so every three weeks up in Chicago where they live, to help our and spell my sister who lives near them and is doing a ton.

Spending all day each day with two 85 year olds can be exhausting. They go to bed early, so I've been sneaking off to a another community nearby called Blue Island, IL, to do street photography and just shoot. These "sunset visits" have been more than theriputic and have really helped me have a good attitude the next day, and the next, and so on.

My camera of choice for doing personal work is always the same. I want something unobtrusive, small, and lightweight, but I also want full-frame. This has meant that I've been shooting a lot with my Sony a7C and the compact primes. These three lenses pair up so well with the a7C, it's like they were made for that camera. Here are some of my captures from Blue Island and of my Mom and Dad together: