My time in 505
I spent the last 3 years in 505, a small corner apartment in downtown Bellingham with a rotating cast of friends and a view of the bay. With nice evening light, beautiful sunsets and and a birds-eye view of the street below, it was a great home for taking photos. From the view of my deck I watched vacant buildings get replaced by a large apartment complex and the bustle of a street near the heart of downtown. At first I took the view for granted but over the years I realized despite the noise of the nearby train and living downtown the view was worth it.
505, the corner apartment.
505 official photo 2018. Katie, Nikki and I.
Left: Bike Crossing.
Right: Field trip to the cul-de-sac.
Below: Changing of the seasons.
Beer pong.
A firefighter going on my roof, I'm not sure why.
Arrest in the cul-de-sac.
I slowly saw this building form over the years and woke up to construction many times.
Light on the bay.
Reed visits from Tennessee.
Julia and Katie as puppeteers, Halloween 2019.
Paden on a phone call.
Paden on a Zoom call.
NYE 2020.
St. Paddy's 5k, 2019.
Snow storm February 2019.
Nikki lying on the ground due to her herniated disc.
Well Fed Farms
Earlier this year I took a video class at Western called Digital Media in Journalism taught by Joe Gosen. For my video project, I spent time with Erik Olson, owner of Well Fed Farms in Bow. I met Erik last year while working on a story about small meat producers for the Skagit Valley Herald. Erik struck me as someone who was really intentional about his farming practices and was the first person who came to mind when I wanted to make a video on a farm.
I ran into a few challenges making the project since it was my first time working with video and the farm is quieter during the winter, but overall I’m happy with the way it turned out.
Thank you to Erik for his time and making the project possible!
Adapting to a New Reality
Linda Allen is a social butterfly.
“My husband taught me to be a very outgoing person, because I wasn’t when we got married,” Linda said.
At 75, she still keeps up with high school friends, church friends and neighbors. She lives in a quiet cul-de-sac in Mount Vernon, Washington, the town where she grew up and spent most of her life.
Despite her three daughters being a couple hours away and living alone with her 8-year-old dog Phoebe, Linda has found ways to keep an active social life during the pandemic.
Linda’s 8-year-old miniature labradoodle, Phoebe, sits on her lap in Linda’s home on March 7, 2021 in Mount Vernon, Wash. “She has been one thing that has helped me get through this year,” she said. “If I didn’t have her, I would just be totally lost.”
Linda holds up a treat as Phoebe, her 8-year-old miniature labradoodle, stands on her hind legs and spins in a circle in Linda’s home on March 7, 2021 in Mount Vernon, Wash.
“I just love it here,” Linda said. “Before the pandemic hit, [high school friends] met every month at Haggen to have lunch and they would come up from Seattle. So, I have a lot of connections here.”
From video calls and online church gatherings to socially distanced walks with her neighbor Judy, almost every aspect of Linda’s life has changed.
On March 7, 2021, before the release of the pre-recorded service at First United Methodist Church, Linda joins a video call at her home in Mount Vernon, Wash. with members of the church for coffee hour. The church has not been meeting in person, so the congregation only meets online or for drive-through events.
Linda, right, walks with her neighbor, Judy Fisher, on March 4, 2021 at Riverfront Park in Mount Vernon, Wash. The two grew closer during the pandemic as they were each other’s main source of in-person social interaction. In addition to walks, Linda and Judy also shared meals together outside on Linda’s deck.
Linda is at high risk for COVID-19 as a cancer survivor. For much of the pandemic, she isolated and took extra precautions, like having her groceries delivered.
At first, some of the changes were challenging, but Linda found ways to adapt. At the start of the pandemic, Linda felt bad that her daughters were driving from Seattle, Wash. just to buy groceries for her and Judy, so she figured out grocery delivery. While she still misses working out at the Young Men’s Christian Association, Linda chose to do physical therapy at home.
Linda makes a grilled cheese with homemade sourdough bread her daughter made for Linda’s birthday in her home on March 7, 2021 in Mount Vernon, Wash.
Other changes, however, have been harder to adapt to. Linda spent Thanksgiving alone; on Christmas, she worried all day about friends who were sick with COVID-19.
“I think that the most difficult aspect of this whole pandemic for me is being holed up alone,” Linda said. “It’s just been kind of an overwhelming year for me and to be alone, through all that, it’s been challenging. But, I’m just not gonna let it get me down.”
A quilt in Linda’s living room is displayed on a couch on Feb. 6, 2021 in Mount Vernon, Wash. Linda spent about five years away from quilting after her husband passed, but she regained interest in it during the lockdown.
Linda’s kids consider her technologically literate for her age. Unafraid to send emojis or figure something out online, she utilized technology throughout the pandemic to make her lifestyle more comfortable.
This was especially clear when the COVID-19 vaccine rollout began. Instead of phone calls and in-person meetings with a doctor, Linda got a tip from a friend that she could schedule her vaccination online.
“I had that appointment in about 10 minutes after going online,” Linda said. “Then I get Judy [and] I said, ‘You’re going to have to come into the house. And we got to get you an appointment, too.’”
After helping Judy, Linda helped two other friends get vaccination appointments.
Linda misses going to the Y and attending Silver Sneakers, an exercise class for older adults. She also looks forward to having dinner inside with Judy.
A year at the Skagit Valley Herald
I’m approaching the one year mark working as a photographer at the Skagit Valley Herald. It has been an exciting journey so far despite the limitations photographing people during a pandemic but I was lucky to have the opportunity to continue to meet and talk to strangers during the shutdown. Compared to a normal year, I photographed fewer events and found myself driving around and looking for photos to fill the paper often. While I would have rather been photographing people, the constant roaming and looking for photos helped me observe how the land changes throughout a year.
I’m grateful for the beauty of the Skagit Valley and to those who have been generous with their time and let me into their lives.
Trying my hand at film
I’ve always been afraid of film photography.
Maybe it’s because I can’t see the photos right after I take them or maybe it’s just because I don’t want to embarrass myself loading the film wrong.
But I finally guilted myself into film photography and dusted off the old Nikon F at the bottom of my photo chest.
I went through about three roles of film in a week: one role of CineStill 50D and a couple rolls of Kodak Gold200. For what I was photographing, I liked the Kodak Gold better. While the CineStill was beautiful in certain situations, I don’t think the price warrants it to be an everyday roll.
I enjoyed the photos I took much more than I was expecting. I was more thoughtful about each photo and since I didn’t do any editing in Lightroom besides a bit of sharpening I was more content leaving the photos be.
This is especially true with the cocktail photo. I’ve taken plenty of cocktail photos since quarantine began but I’ve never been happy with them. Whenever I try to do a cocktail photoshoot, I tinker with the setup so much that I’m never satisfied. With this photo, I took one image on a whim because I saw some good light. I couldn’t tinker with it because I didn’t know how it turned out.
I’d like to continue using film. I think if I found a cheaper way to develop and scan images it could be viable for certain projects and assignments. Once I got over the fear of messing up and felt comfortable loading the film it was a really enjoyable process and the anticipation of getting my images back was exciting.
