Author: Lindsay Kappius

I would be so frustrated if my wedding day had to was completely changed due to the coronavirus. Still, with this happy couple and family, you could barely even notice anything was different. My boyfriend and I have been together for nearly six years, so I have gotten to know all his cousins and extended family like they are my own. When everyone gets together, smiles, hugs, and endless signs of love are exchanged because family is so important. I was really glad to be able to take some photos during this drive-thru a celebration. It is such a unique event that hopefully we never have to do again but is for sure something to remember!

A rainy Easter Sunday means that adorable egg hunts are canceled, feature hunting will be wet, and overall it may suck to photograph BUT I still went out and tried to make a picture! I drove to the same shopping center that I shot the geese in and saw a bright yellow jacket from a distance. Immediately I knew that if this caught my eye, it could make a picture. I debated not getting out of the car solely on not wanting to get rejected by the mysterious yellow jacket employee. I knew that grocery store workers have been working hard lately, and I almost didn’t bother, BUT I put my big girl pants and rain jacket on and did it anyway. The yellow jacket wearer was Casey Devine, a senior in high school who started working for Harris Teeter after the baseball season got canceled. He had only been working for about a month, so he got the short end of the stick and had to be the person to put away the carts in the rain. He freely let me photograph, both of us getting soaked in the process and seeking shelter to chat for a minute in between cart retrieval. I learned about his college plans for going to NC State. I suggested enjoying your time in college as it goes by fast. He looks forward to how fun it will be. I wished him the best in his future, and I am glad that I stopped to learn more about the mysterious yellow jacket employee.

I had some fun while playing around with my 70-200. I managed to photograph these geese without getting attacked, so that was pretty great. After a minute, I thought to myself, “Yep, this is what quarantine has led me too. I am now the crazy lady photographing the shopping center geese. ” Afterwards, I wrote a basic love story for Sal and Sally.

The photo with the biker I am pretty proud because of how perfectly timed it is! The bike is in the PERFECT spot! I wish he were looking over at the rock, but hey I’ll take it! I did have a guy question my beliefs on the virus and other politically driven questions, which was extremely odd while waiting for that image. I wasn’t really sure how to answer many of them and left confused and found it strange. The situation taught me that when I have my camera with me, and someone asks me a question that is politically driven, I respond with that I am representing the media and media remains neutral, so I don’t feel comfortable answering the question. Simple!

As you can tell the Romare Bearden Park is my go-to place for photos. I have come to be comfortable with walking around uptown AND bonus points I almost always find free parking at the park. And I mean, look at the cute doggo. He got a splinter in his mouth from the stick and didn’t seem to mind at all!

My dads pride and joy… besides his kids of course.

Birthdays just don’t look the same during the virus.

The signs do have a funny story to go with them though. The signs in the front yard were a surprise and the company that puts them up and takes them down does so at night. They had put them up and the plan was that he would wake up and go get the mail to see the signs. Well, that wasn’t exactly how he found out.

You see the signs have one rule associated and that is don’t mow the grass around them or remove them.

At the crack of 9 am the lawn guys show up and start mowing the lawn. I’m asleep upstairs but hear my mom scrambling and saying “Babe! Babe! The signs you gotta go tell them!”. He is confused as heck and had just woken up so nobody was dressed and had to explain from the front door to just leave the signs alone. Surprise!

We all laughed about that later. I am really glad I got to spend this day with my family. If I was in Wilmington on my internship I may not have had the chance to celebrate it with everyone.

I upgraded my equipment to include a Nikon D4s with a Nikon 70-200 f 2/8. I’ve had it for a month and let me say I do not regret this purchase at all. I feel like a total badass with my 2 cameras hanging on my side. The combination of the 24-70 and the 70-200 I can truly do anything. Taking the plunge to upgrade was hard but hey what else are you going to do during quarantine besides online shopping?

Can you tell I love the fact that my cats are black and my room is essentially a blank canvas? How many ways can I silhouette them? You’ll have to stay tuned to find out.