It's been more than a month since photographer Jamie Harmon found himself -- like everyone else -- stuck at home with the wife and kids.
"It became very apparent that I needed something to do," he says. That need quickly turned into a vast documentary photo project capturing the lives of people sheltering in place as the coronavirus locked down Shelby County.
Harmon is well-known in Memphis for his Amurica Studio in Midtown and the photo booth he made from a 1950's camper trailer. But as a someone who specializes in what he likes to call "street photography," the rules of social isolation during the COVID-19 epidemic created a problem: no people on the streets.
"As soon as you put parameters on something that's when you can really get creative with it," Harmon says. "So as soon as I realized, well, I can't go in the house, I can't go near people, can't touch anything they own, well, I can work with that."
Harmon thought the project might keep him busy for a couple of weeks. But he's still going, at least through May 3. He's been shooting 12 houses a day, seven days a week. By the end of April, he will have visited close to 600 homes. He spends four to five hours each night editing photos.
When he arrives at a location, he'll generally call the family and have them pop their heads outside. If Harmon's ever closer than six feet, there's always glass between them, a closed window or door.
Many families will go out onto their rooftops for photos, or crowd their faces into attic windows. Dogs and cats frequently become props for photos. Cats hate this the most, Harmon says.
For Angus and Anna Blair, who work in the hospitality industry and are parents of two young children, the photos are mementos of a historic year that is both chaotic and frozen. Like many families, they're figuring out this new normal, but taking it in stride so far.
"You know, I have to be honest, being with the family at all times, it's kind of nice," says Anna Blair. "It never would happen before. We're really busy in general. Now, whether or not [the kids] are getting homeschooled correctly... I don't know the answer to that."
The photos are being posted daily to the website quarantinememphis.com. Eventually, Harmon plans to curate his favorite photos and put them in an public exhibition at Crosstown Concourse. But even that plan is as uncertain as the times.
"That's maybe a year and a half away," Harmon says. "Most likely after there's a vaccine. I can't imagine bringing thousands of people together before then."
During each 15-minute photoshoot, Harmon takes a series of pictures. Some are funny, upbeat group or individual portraits that families can post on Facebook or send to relatives. But many sessions have ended up with subjects being moved to tears as they contemplate the emotional toll of the virus.
"There's a lot of happy families standing next to their favorite tree," Harmon says. "But then there's also the [picture] that's the metaphor for how we feel when he have an anxiety attack. Or when we are alone, or when we think too much about what's going to happen in two months, or in six months. I didn't want to sugar coat it and say, 'Everybody's happy on their porch.' That's not the point. The point is we're all in this together. It's okay to be upset about it."
