1 00:00:01,368 --> 00:00:02,769 - If you've been in Memphis   during the past decade, 2 00:00:02,769 --> 00:00:05,472 you've probably encountered   Jamie Harmon's work. 3 00:00:05,472 --> 00:00:08,909 His mobile photo booth Amurica   has been a fixture at Memphis 4 00:00:08,909 --> 00:00:10,410 social events, 5 00:00:10,410 --> 00:00:13,981 but when the COVID-19 pandemic   shut down the city in 2020, 6 00:00:13,981 --> 00:00:16,483 the photographer   developed a new project. 7 00:00:16,483 --> 00:00:19,186 Instead of taking portraits   of people out on the town, 8 00:00:19,186 --> 00:00:21,488 he took his camera to them. 9 00:00:21,488 --> 00:00:24,558 This is A Conversation   with Jamie Harmon. 10 00:00:24,558 --> 00:00:27,127 [upbeat music] 11 00:00:31,331 --> 00:00:33,400 Hi, I'm Chris McCoy from the Memphis Flyer 12 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:37,037 and we are here in Crosstown Arts Gallery with Jamie Harmon. 13 00:00:37,037 --> 00:00:39,540 Jamie, thank you so much for joining us today. 14 00:00:39,540 --> 00:00:41,041 - Thanks for having me. 15 00:00:41,041 --> 00:00:45,279 - So I guess the first question is about Amurica. 16 00:00:46,480 --> 00:00:50,584 You have done this photo booth for, 17 00:00:50,584 --> 00:00:51,518 when did you start? 18 00:00:52,519 --> 00:00:55,923 - It was January of 2011 was, 19 00:00:55,923 --> 00:00:58,258 actually I purchased the camper, 20 00:00:58,258 --> 00:01:01,528 the original camper in December of 2010. 21 00:01:01,528 --> 00:01:05,532 And then by the end of February of 2011, 22 00:01:05,532 --> 00:01:09,569 it was in its first round of what it was gonna be 23 00:01:09,569 --> 00:01:10,704 which I didn't know   what it was gonna be, 24 00:01:10,704 --> 00:01:12,039 it was really just gonna be 25 00:01:12,039 --> 00:01:15,042 a mobile portrait thing   for just a project. 26 00:01:15,042 --> 00:01:17,678 It wasn't meant to   be what it is today. 27 00:01:17,678 --> 00:01:20,380 It was definitely a very simple 28 00:01:20,380 --> 00:01:22,316 something to do to roll around 29 00:01:22,316 --> 00:01:24,418 and take weird pictures of people. 30 00:01:24,418 --> 00:01:26,954 - Okay, so why Amurica? 31 00:01:26,954 --> 00:01:28,522 I don't know this, I've always wondered-- 32 00:01:28,522 --> 00:01:31,291 - Oh yeah. This is a pretty, it's a pretty decent story. 33 00:01:31,291 --> 00:01:34,795 Actually, on one of the first dates with my now wife, 34 00:01:34,795 --> 00:01:37,564 Leah Keys, I don't know. 35 00:01:37,564 --> 00:01:42,569 I had seen a Bank of   America sign laying behind 36 00:01:43,637 --> 00:01:46,840 Tad Pierson's warehouse home downtown, 37 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:50,177 and it was discarded and we were, out on a date 38 00:01:50,177 --> 00:01:52,346 and I probably was like, maybe I was trying to show off. 39 00:01:52,346 --> 00:01:53,880 I don't know. 40 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:55,148 I was like, yeah, I like to scavenge things off the road. 41 00:01:55,148 --> 00:01:56,450 And anyway, so I went 42 00:01:56,450 --> 00:01:58,919 and I had been planning on grabbing that sign to 43 00:01:58,919 --> 00:02:00,420 do something with it. 44 00:02:00,420 --> 00:02:03,523 This was before the photo booth was even than a thing. 45 00:02:03,523 --> 00:02:06,126 - It was, you know, before it was a thing. 46 00:02:06,126 --> 00:02:07,828 So I had that, I had taken that it was discarded, 47 00:02:07,828 --> 00:02:11,231 put it in my some storage thing that I had. 48 00:02:11,231 --> 00:02:13,834 And then when the trailer was done, 49 00:02:13,834 --> 00:02:16,370 I was with a friend of mine, Sally Russell, 50 00:02:16,370 --> 00:02:19,106 and she saw the sign and was like, oh, 51 00:02:19,106 --> 00:02:22,075 if you take the N from the bank part and turn it upside 52 00:02:22,075 --> 00:02:24,711 down, you have a U and   you can have Amurica. 53 00:02:24,711 --> 00:02:26,346 And then we talked   about, you know, 54 00:02:26,346 --> 00:02:28,015 what is the   definition of Amurica? 55 00:02:28,015 --> 00:02:30,283 Like there's an Urban Dictionary definition. 56 00:02:30,283 --> 00:02:33,720 And then it all came together with like the photo booth was 57 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:35,989 a trailer and it was kind of the, 58 00:02:35,989 --> 00:02:39,826 the Urban Dictionary said that Amurica was the land of the 59 00:02:39,826 --> 00:02:41,795 red, white, trash and blue. 60 00:02:41,795 --> 00:02:43,597 So it was like, oh, it's a trailer, 61 00:02:43,597 --> 00:02:46,967 trailer trash, Amurica on the side of a trailer. 62 00:02:46,967 --> 00:02:49,002 And that's really, that was it. 63 00:02:49,002 --> 00:02:51,138 That was all it was. 64 00:02:51,138 --> 00:02:53,707 - And you decorated the interior of these, 65 00:02:53,707 --> 00:02:55,509 the Amurica photo booths. 66 00:02:55,509 --> 00:02:56,810 'Cause there have been several at this point, right? 67 00:02:56,810 --> 00:02:58,912 - There's been two that were mobile. 68 00:02:58,912 --> 00:03:02,949 One was just destroyed by a   traffic accident six months ago 69 00:03:02,949 --> 00:03:05,018 And that was the original   one, unfortunately. 70 00:03:05,018 --> 00:03:07,587 But the second one   was built a few, 71 00:03:07,587 --> 00:03:11,591 like a year and a half   later, so like 2012 probably. 72 00:03:11,591 --> 00:03:16,129 And yeah, so my son and I, who was 11 at the time, 73 00:03:16,129 --> 00:03:18,465 he kind of, was just a project for us to do together. 74 00:03:18,465 --> 00:03:21,401 We stapled old pictures up and then put the lights on it and 75 00:03:21,401 --> 00:03:25,672 then it became a software issue, which you know, 76 00:03:25,672 --> 00:03:28,575 that came into being over the next couple of years. 77 00:03:28,575 --> 00:03:30,577 You know, like the technology was there. 78 00:03:30,577 --> 00:03:33,980 I mean, I have actually used trailers for photography 79 00:03:33,980 --> 00:03:35,482 since the early '90s. 80 00:03:35,482 --> 00:03:40,187 I had a 1-hour photo lab in an old camper in 1991 and 81 00:03:41,354 --> 00:03:44,157 I would go to events, shoot them on film, 82 00:03:44,157 --> 00:03:46,359 go out to the parking lot, process 83 00:03:46,359 --> 00:03:50,130 and print the pictures in an old '60s camper. 84 00:03:50,130 --> 00:03:52,566 But back then, you couldn't do what you can do today. 85 00:03:52,566 --> 00:03:56,903 'Cause it was, digital allowed it to go into the next mode. 86 00:03:56,903 --> 00:03:58,839 - I think people who've never done it have no idea 87 00:03:58,839 --> 00:04:01,975 how much more convenient digital is than film. 88 00:04:01,975 --> 00:04:04,811 - Oh, man, yeah, yeah for sure, for sure. 89 00:04:08,048 --> 00:04:12,185 - The interior of these photo booths were spectacular 90 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:14,121 and you had all kinds of stuff in them. 91 00:04:14,121 --> 00:04:15,589 Still do, you know? 92 00:04:15,589 --> 00:04:17,858 I shouldn't say speak of it in the past tense. 93 00:04:17,858 --> 00:04:20,393 - Oh yeah. It still exists. - Yeah. Yeah. 94 00:04:20,393 --> 00:04:23,864 But, you put all kinds, are you like a pack rat? 95 00:04:23,864 --> 00:04:26,366 - Well, I think I have a pretty decent rule 96 00:04:26,366 --> 00:04:29,136 of if I'm not gonna use it, I'll get rid of it. 97 00:04:29,136 --> 00:04:31,938 But that was one of those things where the trail, you know, 98 00:04:31,938 --> 00:04:35,075 if I saw, I started collecting weirder things in the, 99 00:04:35,075 --> 00:04:39,446 you know, 2011 to put inside the camper 100 00:04:39,446 --> 00:04:42,182 and then, you know, eventually you lose interest 101 00:04:42,182 --> 00:04:43,717 in that kind of stuff. 102 00:04:43,717 --> 00:04:46,086 So it's like, I don't really seek out that stuff as much. 103 00:04:46,086 --> 00:04:48,989 But you also develop a reputation and people just start 104 00:04:48,989 --> 00:04:50,457 giving it to you, you know? 105 00:04:50,457 --> 00:04:54,661 Like if you like, oh you like frog, you know, figurines. 106 00:04:54,661 --> 00:04:56,730 If somebody thinks you like those then every time they 107 00:04:56,730 --> 00:04:58,598 travel, they're gonna bring you one back. 108 00:04:58,598 --> 00:05:00,267 So that stuff like that happened, 109 00:05:00,267 --> 00:05:01,601 which I really appreciated, 110 00:05:01,601 --> 00:05:03,703 'cause it was nice to have things that were, 111 00:05:03,703 --> 00:05:06,406 were belong to people from their childhood, even, 112 00:05:06,406 --> 00:05:07,874 that were put in there. 113 00:05:07,874 --> 00:05:09,376 If I was shooting their wedding, they would be like, 114 00:05:09,376 --> 00:05:11,811 I brought this for you to keep in the photo booth. 115 00:05:11,811 --> 00:05:13,313 Stuff like that. 116 00:05:13,313 --> 00:05:17,150 So it, it just kind of, it began a life of its own. 117 00:05:17,150 --> 00:05:20,687 - So, and yeah, it does have a life of its own. 118 00:05:20,687 --> 00:05:23,089 These photographs are all over social media. 119 00:05:23,089 --> 00:05:24,491 You know, people go into parties 120 00:05:24,491 --> 00:05:27,427 and they get their picture taken at Amurica. 121 00:05:27,427 --> 00:05:28,628 I've got three or four, you know? 122 00:05:28,628 --> 00:05:30,997 - Yeah. It was very distinctive for, 123 00:05:30,997 --> 00:05:33,300 it was definitely built for social media at the time. 124 00:05:33,300 --> 00:05:34,801 I mean in 2011, 125 00:05:34,801 --> 00:05:37,003 I don't even think I was on Instagram at that time. 126 00:05:37,003 --> 00:05:40,307 It was around, but I just wasn't using it, you know, 127 00:05:40,307 --> 00:05:41,741 at the time. 128 00:05:41,741 --> 00:05:44,110 And then I adapted of course, and it was definitely a, 129 00:05:44,110 --> 00:05:46,780 it became one of those Memphis people have said, 130 00:05:46,780 --> 00:05:48,815 it's like your   Memphis passport. 131 00:05:48,815 --> 00:05:51,585 I mean over the   past 11 years now, 132 00:05:51,585 --> 00:05:54,721 I mean the last two don't   really count cause it's kind of 133 00:05:54,721 --> 00:05:56,256 been shut down, 134 00:05:56,256 --> 00:05:58,792 but there's probably half   a million photos that I've 135 00:05:58,792 --> 00:06:00,327 archived of people in there. 136 00:06:00,327 --> 00:06:02,796 And people that were   like on their first date 137 00:06:02,796 --> 00:06:04,731 and then I was at   their wedding and then 138 00:06:04,731 --> 00:06:07,801 they're in there with their   kids and then so forth. 139 00:06:07,801 --> 00:06:09,869 And of course there's   other, you know, 140 00:06:09,869 --> 00:06:12,372 there's divorces as   well, but it's yeah. 141 00:06:12,372 --> 00:06:14,641 The kids have grown up   with pictures in there. 142 00:06:14,641 --> 00:06:16,509 So it's kind of   been a cool project. 143 00:06:16,509 --> 00:06:18,445 I didn't know what,   I didn't know, 144 00:06:19,779 --> 00:06:22,015 the first year when it started getting some traction, 145 00:06:22,015 --> 00:06:24,017 my instinct was to run from it. 146 00:06:24,017 --> 00:06:28,121 I was like, this can't be, I can't do this forever. 147 00:06:28,121 --> 00:06:30,490 But then, you know, it, it was all positive. 148 00:06:30,490 --> 00:06:33,660 Everything became a, it's only been positive 149 00:06:33,660 --> 00:06:35,495 since it started, really. 150 00:06:35,495 --> 00:06:39,633 - So you've been doing event photography for a while. 151 00:06:39,633 --> 00:06:43,370 Like that kind of was your roots right? 152 00:06:43,370 --> 00:06:47,974 - I started out actually almost right outta high school, 153 00:06:47,974 --> 00:06:51,077 photographing people that rode the riverboats downtown, 154 00:06:51,077 --> 00:06:52,979 the Memphis Queen line riverboats. 155 00:06:52,979 --> 00:06:55,749 And I would, it had a Pentax film. 156 00:06:55,749 --> 00:06:58,385 It was all film, and I would process 157 00:06:58,385 --> 00:07:01,721 and then run to the lab, which was on Beale Street Landing, 158 00:07:01,721 --> 00:07:03,456 which is no longer there, 159 00:07:03,456 --> 00:07:05,659 and then bring the pictures back to sell them. 160 00:07:05,659 --> 00:07:07,927 And I did that for a decade in the '90s. 161 00:07:07,927 --> 00:07:11,197 So my 20s was, was meant, was doing that. 162 00:07:11,197 --> 00:07:14,234 So I really got used to a camera. 163 00:07:14,234 --> 00:07:15,702 And do, you know, 164 00:07:15,702 --> 00:07:16,870 I didn't even have to think about the metering. 165 00:07:16,870 --> 00:07:18,371 It was just like, 166 00:07:18,371 --> 00:07:21,174 I can look and know what to do 'cause I was doing it all day 167 00:07:21,174 --> 00:07:24,844 every day, same with printing and processing color. 168 00:07:24,844 --> 00:07:27,180 You know, I was using machines that were 10, 169 00:07:27,180 --> 00:07:28,615 that were over a decade old. 170 00:07:28,615 --> 00:07:30,550 So in the '90s, that's where 171 00:07:30,550 --> 00:07:33,353 I just became more of an obsessive photographer 172 00:07:33,353 --> 00:07:36,356 and just documented everything 'cause it was easy. 173 00:07:36,356 --> 00:07:38,124 I had access to all of the machinery and all of the, 174 00:07:38,124 --> 00:07:40,960 the film was cheap 'cause I'd order it in bulk. 175 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:45,231 So really my obsession of like this project 176 00:07:45,231 --> 00:07:46,800 is over 800 images. 177 00:07:48,201 --> 00:07:53,173 It was like 15 to 20 miniature creative jobs per day. 178 00:07:54,574 --> 00:07:58,445 Like every shoot was a new, you've got 15 minutes to do it. 179 00:07:58,445 --> 00:08:00,914 That's for later in the conversation probably. 180 00:08:00,914 --> 00:08:02,382 - Well let's go there. 181 00:08:02,382 --> 00:08:03,983 - But it's connected, you know, it's connected. 182 00:08:03,983 --> 00:08:05,952 Like you just start something when you're young and then you 183 00:08:05,952 --> 00:08:07,387 never stop. 184 00:08:07,387 --> 00:08:10,056 - The only other question I have about that or 185 00:08:10,056 --> 00:08:13,026 that seems to be important is to me is like, 186 00:08:14,227 --> 00:08:16,196 you just are so good at shooting people. 187 00:08:16,196 --> 00:08:18,832 And like, I mean some photographers do landscapes, 188 00:08:18,832 --> 00:08:23,837 some photographers do like, very posed kind of stuff, 189 00:08:23,837 --> 00:08:27,907 but you seem to thrive on spontaneity and specifically 190 00:08:27,907 --> 00:08:30,176 taking pictures of people's faces. 191 00:08:30,176 --> 00:08:33,380 I mean... - Yeah. I think that took time. 192 00:08:33,380 --> 00:08:34,681 In my 20s, I was not, 193 00:08:34,681 --> 00:08:37,484 I was too intimidated by approaching people. 194 00:08:37,484 --> 00:08:40,387 You know, as you get older, that becomes a little easier. 195 00:08:40,387 --> 00:08:43,823 And I think it was just a good natural progression 196 00:08:43,823 --> 00:08:45,892 of my interests when I was younger. 197 00:08:45,892 --> 00:08:48,962 And then you get bored with taking pictures of things 198 00:08:48,962 --> 00:08:51,865 that are inanimate, or finding things 199 00:08:51,865 --> 00:08:53,700 or using props or whatever they were 200 00:08:53,700 --> 00:08:57,804 and only shooting stuff of your family. 201 00:08:57,804 --> 00:08:59,439 I mean, when you, you know, it's easy to shoot 202 00:08:59,439 --> 00:09:00,974 pictures of your family, if they're into it 203 00:09:00,974 --> 00:09:02,609 because you're with them, it's close, 204 00:09:02,609 --> 00:09:05,779 the intimidation factor isn't there. 205 00:09:05,779 --> 00:09:08,081 But I do like to work fast because it doesn't allow me to 206 00:09:08,081 --> 00:09:12,185 have to sit there and think about what could go wrong. 207 00:09:12,185 --> 00:09:15,955 Or the awkward silences of what's next. 208 00:09:15,955 --> 00:09:18,625 So I think it works better for me to 209 00:09:18,625 --> 00:09:22,162 be in a situation to where let's just figure it out when 210 00:09:22,162 --> 00:09:26,199 you get here, instead of trying to pre-plan everything. 211 00:09:26,199 --> 00:09:28,501 - Which brings us to the, what do you call it? 212 00:09:28,501 --> 00:09:30,003 Is this the quarantine project? 213 00:09:30,003 --> 00:09:31,871 - You know, in the beginning it was Quarantine Memphis, 214 00:09:31,871 --> 00:09:33,807 but I wanted Memphis to be first. 215 00:09:33,807 --> 00:09:36,309 So now it's called Memphis Quarantine. 216 00:09:36,309 --> 00:09:39,212 - Well obviously March 2021 happens, the city shuts down. 217 00:09:39,212 --> 00:09:41,748 Amurica is not happening anymore. 218 00:09:41,748 --> 00:09:44,484 - Yeah. - So. 219 00:09:44,484 --> 00:09:46,953 - Yeah, so that's, it all started that we were, 220 00:09:46,953 --> 00:09:50,590 everyone was sent home here in Memphis from school 221 00:09:50,590 --> 00:09:53,526 and most jobs on March 13th. 222 00:09:53,526 --> 00:09:58,531 I think I was initially a little panicked that I wasn't, 223 00:09:59,966 --> 00:10:02,235 that I was gonna be stuck at home because that was the 224 00:10:02,235 --> 00:10:05,071 literal, you know, words that were used, stay at home. 225 00:10:05,071 --> 00:10:07,173 And then I started thinking about the rules of like, well, 226 00:10:07,173 --> 00:10:08,374 what are the rules? 227 00:10:08,374 --> 00:10:10,143 Like, don't go to a bar, don't go to church, 228 00:10:10,143 --> 00:10:11,578 don't go to have a party. 229 00:10:11,578 --> 00:10:13,680 Don't just, stay away from crowds. 230 00:10:13,680 --> 00:10:14,948 You can go to the park, 231 00:10:14,948 --> 00:10:15,882 you can walk around, you can talk to people, 232 00:10:15,882 --> 00:10:19,786 people from 20 feet away outdoors, it's perfectly fine. 233 00:10:19,786 --> 00:10:23,423 But still the social norms kind of still worried me 234 00:10:23,423 --> 00:10:25,225 that if I start taking these pictures, 235 00:10:25,225 --> 00:10:26,793 am I gonna be targeted, you know, 236 00:10:26,793 --> 00:10:29,195 and canceled or whatever you want to call it. 237 00:10:29,195 --> 00:10:32,165 So I first started with friends, Ryan Azada 238 00:10:32,165 --> 00:10:35,568 and Maria Applegate were the   first people I called to say, 239 00:10:35,568 --> 00:10:37,504 "Hey, can I just come   take your picture 240 00:10:37,504 --> 00:10:38,972 through your windows?" 241 00:10:38,972 --> 00:10:41,441 And just to give   me something to do. 242 00:10:41,441 --> 00:10:45,178 And then after that I kind   of put it on reluctantly, 243 00:10:45,178 --> 00:10:47,714 I put it on social   media thinking 244 00:10:47,714 --> 00:10:51,518 it's either gonna backfire   or it's gonna keep me busy. 245 00:10:51,518 --> 00:10:53,152 And we were all told, 246 00:10:53,152 --> 00:10:54,921 yeah we'll shut   down for two weeks. 247 00:10:54,921 --> 00:10:56,189 And then we can, you know, 248 00:10:56,189 --> 00:10:58,124 so I was thinking it's a two-week project. 249 00:10:58,124 --> 00:11:00,960 So I was trying to get as many   in a day as I could for two 250 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:02,762 weeks because I knew   it was gonna end 251 00:11:02,762 --> 00:11:04,497 or I thought it was gonna end. 252 00:11:04,497 --> 00:11:06,866 And after that happened, 253 00:11:06,866 --> 00:11:09,569 I was getting text messages   and messages from like five 254 00:11:09,569 --> 00:11:13,106 different sources from emails   and Facebook and Instagram. 255 00:11:13,106 --> 00:11:14,641 And that got outta hand. 256 00:11:14,641 --> 00:11:15,742 I couldn't keep up with that. 257 00:11:15,742 --> 00:11:18,044 So Leah, my wife, said, 258 00:11:18,044 --> 00:11:20,813 "Look, let me take over   the organizing of it," 259 00:11:20,813 --> 00:11:23,783 because at that point   there were too many people 260 00:11:23,783 --> 00:11:26,386 and she made a   Google signup sheet, 261 00:11:26,386 --> 00:11:30,490 which then went almost   within weeks to 1200 people. 262 00:11:30,490 --> 00:11:35,495 And then she organized them   all by zipcode and area. 263 00:11:36,362 --> 00:11:37,830 So if I was going   to Germantown, 264 00:11:37,830 --> 00:11:40,500 I needed like 15 people,   they were in the same area. 265 00:11:40,500 --> 00:11:42,635 So I could just go from one house to the other, 266 00:11:42,635 --> 00:11:44,137 kinda like going to the grocery store. 267 00:11:44,137 --> 00:11:45,939 You don't want go to the produce and then immediately to the 268 00:11:45,939 --> 00:11:48,374 eggs and then back to the produce, like plan it, right? 269 00:11:48,374 --> 00:11:52,545 - Well that's how I act in the grocery store. 270 00:11:52,545 --> 00:11:54,581 Ideally, you shouldn't do that. 271 00:11:54,581 --> 00:11:55,848 - Yeah. Yeah. 272 00:11:55,848 --> 00:11:57,083 So I was, when I was doing it, I was like, 273 00:11:57,083 --> 00:11:58,384 oh yeah, I'm driving to Collierville 274 00:11:58,384 --> 00:11:59,986 and then I'd have someone downtown. 275 00:11:59,986 --> 00:12:02,622 I was like, I can't, that's too much driving 276 00:12:02,622 --> 00:12:04,157 and that's not efficient. 277 00:12:04,157 --> 00:12:07,827 So she broke it down and did the schedule for two months. 278 00:12:07,827 --> 00:12:09,262 And it was like, I would, 279 00:12:09,262 --> 00:12:11,497 she would just put it in a Google map and I'd open my phone 280 00:12:11,497 --> 00:12:13,800 and there would be a list of people there, 281 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:15,268 and I would just go one after the other. 282 00:12:15,268 --> 00:12:17,870 So I could just focus on showing up, 283 00:12:17,870 --> 00:12:21,240 doing the job and going to the next one and then sitting and 284 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:23,409 editing for six hours at the end of the day. 285 00:12:23,409 --> 00:12:26,412 So it was, we didn't have that many rain days either. 286 00:12:26,412 --> 00:12:30,049 So it was almost every day for, you know, 287 00:12:30,049 --> 00:12:32,619 two and a half months, a little over two and a half months. 288 00:12:32,619 --> 00:12:35,254 - See, that's my memory of the beginning of the pandemic 289 00:12:35,254 --> 00:12:36,556 is how beautiful the weather was. 290 00:12:36,556 --> 00:12:39,392 - It was beautiful until the end of May. 291 00:12:39,392 --> 00:12:40,827 - Yeah. I was like, 292 00:12:40,827 --> 00:12:42,662 it feels like it should be storming outside 293 00:12:42,662 --> 00:12:44,297 or something like there should be 294 00:12:45,632 --> 00:12:47,767 some visible like manifestation of all this. 295 00:12:47,767 --> 00:12:49,936 - Yeah. That was a great, that really helped 296 00:12:49,936 --> 00:12:52,705 because my vehicle is not air conditioned. 297 00:12:52,705 --> 00:12:56,476 So driving around all day would've been brutal 298 00:12:56,476 --> 00:12:58,444 if it would've gotten into the 90s 299 00:12:58,444 --> 00:13:00,013 in the beginning of May. 300 00:13:00,013 --> 00:13:02,682 By June 8th, it was hot, and that was one of the factors. 301 00:13:02,682 --> 00:13:04,417 It was like, yeah, I gotta stop. 302 00:13:04,417 --> 00:13:05,685 It's just too much. 303 00:13:05,685 --> 00:13:07,720 - Yeah. So all these pictures were taken 304 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:08,955 between March and... 305 00:13:08,955 --> 00:13:10,123 - Between March 13th and June 8th, 306 00:13:10,123 --> 00:13:12,358 June 8th was the last one that I shot. 307 00:13:12,358 --> 00:13:15,728 And then it still took me another 25 days to edit 308 00:13:15,728 --> 00:13:17,930 because I wasn't able to keep up 309 00:13:17,930 --> 00:13:20,033 with the editing of every day. 310 00:13:20,033 --> 00:13:22,669 I couldn't shoot and edit those the same day. 311 00:13:22,669 --> 00:13:24,537 And by the time I stopped, 312 00:13:24,537 --> 00:13:28,207 like early May still hadn't even been looked at. 313 00:13:28,207 --> 00:13:30,176 So I had a month of editing to do. 314 00:13:30,176 --> 00:13:32,211 And so I was finished totally with that 315 00:13:32,211 --> 00:13:34,781 by the first week of July probably 316 00:13:34,781 --> 00:13:38,151 and then every single family or person and dwelling 317 00:13:38,151 --> 00:13:42,021 that I showed up to, I would send them a link 318 00:13:42,021 --> 00:13:43,956 with their images that were edited 319 00:13:43,956 --> 00:13:46,559 so they could have those to do what they wanted with. 320 00:13:46,559 --> 00:13:50,063 So like every single 830 of those is all a separate link and 321 00:13:50,063 --> 00:13:53,166 all a, you know, a private thing for them to have 322 00:13:53,166 --> 00:13:54,901 'cause it was, there was no charge. 323 00:13:54,901 --> 00:13:57,570 Didn't even want to really talk about money because I, 324 00:13:57,570 --> 00:14:00,707 we wanted it, when I talked to Leah about it a lot to just 325 00:14:00,707 --> 00:14:01,941 brainstorm it. 326 00:14:01,941 --> 00:14:04,644 And she was like, it needs to be equitable. 327 00:14:04,644 --> 00:14:06,546 You know, like it doesn't need to, 328 00:14:06,546 --> 00:14:08,047 you don't need to feel like it is something that you have 329 00:14:08,047 --> 00:14:10,650 to purchase, like a private setting of a photographer. 330 00:14:10,650 --> 00:14:13,720 It needed to be, like any, just sign up. 331 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:15,221 It's just something for all of us to do. 332 00:14:15,221 --> 00:14:17,356 And many people did donate money 333 00:14:17,356 --> 00:14:19,926 to keep things going, which was wonderful. 334 00:14:19,926 --> 00:14:22,061 And I appreciate all of those people, 335 00:14:22,061 --> 00:14:23,663 but I never discussed it 336 00:14:23,663 --> 00:14:25,832 just because there were so many people 337 00:14:25,832 --> 00:14:28,768 that were trying to figure out even how to navigate the 338 00:14:28,768 --> 00:14:32,271 government assistance system and all of those things. 339 00:14:32,271 --> 00:14:33,606 - So you said you did about 800? 340 00:14:33,606 --> 00:14:36,175 - It was about 833, I think, 341 00:14:36,175 --> 00:14:38,511 was the total number by June 8th. 342 00:14:38,511 --> 00:14:40,012 - Wow. 343 00:14:40,012 --> 00:14:42,782 And yeah, and it was also 15-minute conversations 344 00:14:42,782 --> 00:14:45,318 with 830 people over those first 2 months. 345 00:14:45,318 --> 00:14:48,788 So it was a really great perspective of 346 00:14:48,788 --> 00:14:51,758 trying to figure out what is gonna happen. 347 00:14:51,758 --> 00:14:54,093 So I wasn't really paying attention to those conversations 348 00:14:54,093 --> 00:14:57,497 until May, and then it all became clear that, oh, 349 00:14:57,497 --> 00:15:00,199 this is gonna be the best we get. 350 00:15:00,199 --> 00:15:02,402 Like these are the golden days 351 00:15:02,402 --> 00:15:04,737 and then it's just gonna go to hell, you know? 352 00:15:06,272 --> 00:15:09,075 - And it kind of did. - Yeah. 353 00:15:09,075 --> 00:15:11,010 It's weird to think about, to look back on that time 354 00:15:11,010 --> 00:15:14,680 and think, it was, things were pretty okay. 355 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:17,884 But they were, and in the meantime... 356 00:15:17,884 --> 00:15:18,718 - Scary but temporary at that moment. 357 00:15:18,718 --> 00:15:20,186 - Scary but temporary. 358 00:15:20,186 --> 00:15:21,420 - Everybody thought it was temporary. 359 00:15:21,420 --> 00:15:22,889 You know, like we're going to fix this. 360 00:15:22,889 --> 00:15:25,892 - Did you let people decide where they were gonna get their 361 00:15:25,892 --> 00:15:27,126 picture taken? 362 00:15:27,126 --> 00:15:30,897 - Well, yeah, I'm pretty flexible. 363 00:15:30,897 --> 00:15:33,166 And I like to start things off with like, 364 00:15:33,166 --> 00:15:35,434 I would start things off by saying, you know, 365 00:15:35,434 --> 00:15:37,303 good to meet you, all this other stuff 366 00:15:37,303 --> 00:15:40,706 and ask how things were going and then say, look, 367 00:15:40,706 --> 00:15:42,175 there's things that I want to do, 368 00:15:42,175 --> 00:15:43,876 and I would like to do things that you would like to do. 369 00:15:43,876 --> 00:15:47,413 So where would you like a nice family portrait just to, 370 00:15:47,413 --> 00:15:49,315 for your vision, whatever you see. 371 00:15:49,315 --> 00:15:50,783 And a lot of them had it all planned 372 00:15:50,783 --> 00:15:52,518 and they had costumes on. 373 00:15:52,518 --> 00:15:55,254 Most people were just like, do whatever you want to do. 374 00:15:55,254 --> 00:15:56,689 And then it would become clear 375 00:15:56,689 --> 00:15:59,625 that I did what I wanted to do 376 00:15:59,625 --> 00:16:01,861 and pick the windows and areas that I wanted them to be in, 377 00:16:01,861 --> 00:16:04,430 then they came up with their own ideas. 378 00:16:04,430 --> 00:16:06,299 You know, it's like once it got started, 379 00:16:06,299 --> 00:16:09,302 they always ended it with, well, can we do one here? 380 00:16:09,302 --> 00:16:11,804 They were reluctant to be the director in the beginning, 381 00:16:11,804 --> 00:16:15,141 But by the end, almost everybody wanted to be the director. 382 00:16:15,141 --> 00:16:16,108 Which was fine. 383 00:16:17,410 --> 00:16:20,179 - When you did me and my wife, 384 00:16:20,179 --> 00:16:21,681 we were like in our robes. 385 00:16:21,681 --> 00:16:24,283 - Yeah. And that was just,   I happened to be next door. 386 00:16:24,283 --> 00:16:25,751 - Yeah, you called us. 387 00:16:25,751 --> 00:16:26,686 - I was like, I gotta   knock on your door and say, 388 00:16:26,686 --> 00:16:27,987 hey, I'm here. Can we do it? 389 00:16:27,987 --> 00:16:30,423 Because I wanna get as   many as I can, so yeah. 390 00:16:30,423 --> 00:16:32,225 You were one of the, just happenstances. 391 00:16:32,225 --> 00:16:37,230 - What did you learn about people during this time? 392 00:16:37,230 --> 00:16:38,965 - I probably learned more about my, you know, 393 00:16:38,965 --> 00:16:42,735 people say I learned more about myself and I think, 394 00:16:42,735 --> 00:16:44,637 I didn't learn a lot about the people 395 00:16:44,637 --> 00:16:46,372 because it was 15 minutes. 396 00:16:46,372 --> 00:16:47,807 I mean, I learned where they lived 397 00:16:47,807 --> 00:16:50,343 and you know that they all have a dog. 398 00:16:51,310 --> 00:16:54,347 - But you stared at their faces. - Yeah. 399 00:16:54,347 --> 00:16:55,781 - You know, 'cause you were taking multiple frames. 400 00:16:55,781 --> 00:16:58,618 - Everyone was happy. Everyone was happy. 401 00:16:58,618 --> 00:17:01,220 And they were probably happy because there was something 402 00:17:01,220 --> 00:17:03,422 happening, like I was there, something is happening. 403 00:17:03,422 --> 00:17:08,427 But the pictures I chose to share had that stoic look. 404 00:17:09,862 --> 00:17:11,330 And even though that's the one that I shared because I was 405 00:17:11,330 --> 00:17:14,533 trying to just convey like, this is how we really all feel 406 00:17:14,533 --> 00:17:16,903 at two in the morning in the bathroom alone. 407 00:17:16,903 --> 00:17:18,537 You know, like we're scared, 408 00:17:18,537 --> 00:17:20,239 we're not frightened all day long, 409 00:17:20,239 --> 00:17:22,174 but we're definitely nervous about this. 410 00:17:22,174 --> 00:17:25,912 And like that was just kind of conveyed the vibe of what I 411 00:17:25,912 --> 00:17:28,114 thought the world might be feeling, 412 00:17:28,114 --> 00:17:30,583 even not just the country or this city. 413 00:17:30,583 --> 00:17:33,386 But there are just as many pictures 414 00:17:33,386 --> 00:17:36,822 of all of these people smiling and laughing and having fun. 415 00:17:36,822 --> 00:17:40,426 And in the private link they got all those were there. 416 00:17:40,426 --> 00:17:42,228 I just chose to share the ones 417 00:17:42,228 --> 00:17:45,298 that were conveying what I thought, 418 00:17:46,165 --> 00:17:47,600 what I wanted to convey. 419 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:49,268 But what I learned about, you know, 420 00:17:49,268 --> 00:17:51,437 I think really it's the, 421 00:17:51,437 --> 00:17:55,641 I just learned more and more and more about inequality and 422 00:17:55,641 --> 00:17:58,144 how privilege and things like that. 423 00:17:58,144 --> 00:18:00,212 I would go see these people that were happy at 424 00:18:00,212 --> 00:18:02,248 home because they were making more money 425 00:18:02,248 --> 00:18:03,749 than they'd ever made. 426 00:18:03,749 --> 00:18:05,885 Getting, you know, some of them $850 a week from, 427 00:18:05,885 --> 00:18:10,222 the government assistance or they already worked from 428 00:18:10,222 --> 00:18:11,891 home and they were fine. 429 00:18:11,891 --> 00:18:14,293 And they felt like, hey, I was set up for this. 430 00:18:14,293 --> 00:18:17,029 And then I would go to the grocery store and the checker 431 00:18:17,029 --> 00:18:20,766 would be in Kroger without a mask because it took a while 432 00:18:20,766 --> 00:18:22,935 for them to catch up, you know, 433 00:18:22,935 --> 00:18:25,638 for the masks weren't even available in the beginning. 434 00:18:25,638 --> 00:18:28,541 And those people just had to go to work. 435 00:18:28,541 --> 00:18:31,610 I think it was the contrast of seeing people in their homes 436 00:18:31,610 --> 00:18:34,380 all day and then seeing people that never quit working. 437 00:18:34,380 --> 00:18:36,816 Like that kind of thing was like, yeah, 438 00:18:36,816 --> 00:18:38,417 it's always been that way. 439 00:18:38,417 --> 00:18:40,052 Right. Not to bring it down. 440 00:18:40,052 --> 00:18:44,423 - No, no. But did you get some essential worker pictures 441 00:18:44,423 --> 00:18:45,725 at some point? 442 00:18:45,725 --> 00:18:47,994 - Oh yeah. There were definitely, 443 00:18:47,994 --> 00:18:50,062 I mean these aren't labeled, you know, 444 00:18:50,062 --> 00:18:52,999 I wish I could put names and places 445 00:18:52,999 --> 00:18:56,035 and all kinds of information on every one of these pictures 446 00:18:56,035 --> 00:18:57,603 that are hanging in the show, 447 00:18:57,603 --> 00:19:00,206 but that would've taken me a year, you know, 448 00:19:00,206 --> 00:19:01,941 like to get all the spellings correctly 449 00:19:01,941 --> 00:19:03,142 and get the things right. 450 00:19:03,142 --> 00:19:04,777 But there are nurses and doc-, I mean, 451 00:19:04,777 --> 00:19:07,046 most of these people were scheduled when they signed up, 452 00:19:07,046 --> 00:19:09,281 they would tell us the day they were available. 453 00:19:09,281 --> 00:19:12,018 They didn't just, some of them said any day we're home, 454 00:19:12,018 --> 00:19:14,720 but a lot of them were like, we got their occupation. 455 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:17,390 We knew what they did, and we put a lot of people, 456 00:19:17,390 --> 00:19:19,125 a little maybe ahead of the line. 457 00:19:19,125 --> 00:19:21,327 If we knew like, oh, this person's a nurse, 458 00:19:21,327 --> 00:19:22,762 this is their only day off. 459 00:19:22,762 --> 00:19:25,131 So we need to get to their house today. 460 00:19:25,131 --> 00:19:29,769 And there's one of a person   in a T-Rex blow up outfit 461 00:19:29,769 --> 00:19:30,770 that's in here somewhere. 462 00:19:30,770 --> 00:19:32,705 - Oh yeah, I saw that one. 463 00:19:32,705 --> 00:19:34,273 - And that was a nurse   who would walk her dog 464 00:19:34,273 --> 00:19:37,843 in that to make the kids   in the neighborhood laugh. 465 00:19:37,843 --> 00:19:39,779 So every one of them   have some kind of story. 466 00:19:39,779 --> 00:19:42,815 I got information about   every single one of them, 467 00:19:42,815 --> 00:19:45,184 but yeah, there were plenty, 468 00:19:45,184 --> 00:19:48,788 there was infectious disease   doctors that do the research at 469 00:19:48,788 --> 00:19:51,323 St. Jude, I   photographed, you know, 470 00:19:51,323 --> 00:19:55,194 those types of people from   people that worked in warehouse 471 00:19:55,194 --> 00:19:57,630 and people that worked at FedEx and they were, 472 00:19:57,630 --> 00:19:59,665 you know, so some of them were all still working. 473 00:19:59,665 --> 00:20:01,834 Not all of these people were just home. 474 00:20:01,834 --> 00:20:05,871 They were scheduled to get their day. 475 00:20:05,871 --> 00:20:07,039 - I walk through these pictures 476 00:20:07,039 --> 00:20:09,008 then I see faces that I know 477 00:20:09,008 --> 00:20:11,143 and I see faces that I don't know. 478 00:20:11,143 --> 00:20:13,279 And you know, we were talking earlier 479 00:20:13,279 --> 00:20:16,482 before the taping   about the diversity 480 00:20:16,482 --> 00:20:20,219 of the faces that   we see here too. 481 00:20:20,219 --> 00:20:21,487 - Yeah. Yeah. 482 00:20:21,487 --> 00:20:23,556 That was one of the main   goals too, is to try to 483 00:20:23,556 --> 00:20:24,857 reach out to as many people 484 00:20:24,857 --> 00:20:26,392 that might not even   have social media. 485 00:20:26,392 --> 00:20:28,194 By the time we got into May, 486 00:20:28,194 --> 00:20:32,164 I was talking to professors   at the universities and people 487 00:20:32,164 --> 00:20:35,835 that worked at schools, at high   schools and other places to, 488 00:20:35,835 --> 00:20:38,471 to send the message   out to reach people 489 00:20:38,471 --> 00:20:39,805 that might not   have a smartphone 490 00:20:39,805 --> 00:20:42,007 or might not have social media 491 00:20:42,007 --> 00:20:43,309 'cause a lot of people   do that on purpose. 492 00:20:43,309 --> 00:20:45,177 And a lot of people do it 493 00:20:45,177 --> 00:20:46,745 because they don't   have the option. 494 00:20:46,745 --> 00:20:49,815 And so there, you know, that   was starting to get momentum, 495 00:20:49,815 --> 00:20:54,253 being introduced to people   outside of maybe the connection 496 00:20:54,253 --> 00:20:56,922 that I had with people   on social media. 497 00:20:56,922 --> 00:20:59,125 And, and then it, that was, 498 00:20:59,125 --> 00:21:00,826 I could have gone on a year. 499 00:21:00,826 --> 00:21:02,995 But things changed   in the world. 500 00:21:02,995 --> 00:21:05,998 Things changed in the weather   and you know, it was just, 501 00:21:05,998 --> 00:21:07,133 it was time to quit. 502 00:21:07,133 --> 00:21:09,268 Physically, I couldn't do it anymore. 503 00:21:09,268 --> 00:21:12,338 It was just, I was just getting too worn out 504 00:21:12,338 --> 00:21:13,706 mentally and physically. 505 00:21:13,706 --> 00:21:15,508 So at June 8th was like, yeah, 506 00:21:15,508 --> 00:21:18,844 you've gotta stop or you're gonna have a wreck. 507 00:21:18,844 --> 00:21:21,247 - I think that's really interesting though, because you, 508 00:21:21,247 --> 00:21:23,149 you know, it feels like a lot of times it, 509 00:21:23,149 --> 00:21:25,818 social media is telling you like this is everybody, 510 00:21:25,818 --> 00:21:28,387 this is what everybody thinks, but it's really not. 511 00:21:28,387 --> 00:21:31,757 It's an extension of your network. 512 00:21:31,757 --> 00:21:34,960 And then which builds in biases, you know, 513 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:37,196 to a certain extent for the information that... 514 00:21:37,196 --> 00:21:39,965 - Oh true. I mean there's plenty of posts on social media, 515 00:21:39,965 --> 00:21:42,234 which I, you know, this stuff like this made me think 516 00:21:42,234 --> 00:21:45,137 about the common people say, well, if you're from Memphis, 517 00:21:45,137 --> 00:21:48,340 you know these things and they'll take pictures of things 518 00:21:48,340 --> 00:21:50,843 around Memphis that everybody knows, and it's like, no, 519 00:21:50,843 --> 00:21:52,211 not everybody knows those things. 520 00:21:52,211 --> 00:21:54,246 It's like you lived in that neighborhood or, 521 00:21:54,246 --> 00:21:56,048 or you worked and you have a car. 522 00:21:56,048 --> 00:21:57,716 So you drove down Union every day, 523 00:21:57,716 --> 00:22:00,186 so you see this Sputnik thing or you see the other stuff, 524 00:22:00,186 --> 00:22:03,556 but man, not everybody sees the same stuff. 525 00:22:03,556 --> 00:22:07,059 So just, it can get very tribal. 526 00:22:07,059 --> 00:22:12,064 - Yeah. It can, but I commend you for trying to reach out, 527 00:22:13,265 --> 00:22:14,466 for recognizing that and trying to reach outside. 528 00:22:14,466 --> 00:22:18,370 So tell us how this exhibit came to be then. 529 00:22:18,370 --> 00:22:20,406 - Well, Crosstown Arts really supported me. 530 00:22:20,406 --> 00:22:22,041 I was working for Crosstown Arts. 531 00:22:22,041 --> 00:22:25,010 When we closed, I was running the shared arts space 532 00:22:25,010 --> 00:22:30,015 that they have, which is an amazing space and it shut down. 533 00:22:30,883 --> 00:22:32,117 And there were many members 534 00:22:32,117 --> 00:22:33,252 that no longer had   access to that. 535 00:22:33,252 --> 00:22:35,688 So, you know, we all went home 536 00:22:35,688 --> 00:22:39,124 and we have a 44-inch   Epson printer that 537 00:22:39,124 --> 00:22:40,659 printed every one of these. 538 00:22:41,860 --> 00:22:43,829 Crosstown Arts funded   the ink and the paper. 539 00:22:43,829 --> 00:22:46,665 I printed them all, but   they paid for all of that. 540 00:22:46,665 --> 00:22:50,536 And I was also like on their   payroll kind of when I was 541 00:22:50,536 --> 00:22:52,438 shooting all of this   and I would be talking, 542 00:22:52,438 --> 00:22:55,274 I would talk to my bosses   here and say, look, 543 00:22:55,274 --> 00:22:56,809 this is what I'm doing. 544 00:22:56,809 --> 00:23:00,312 And this was the plan from the   very beginning, in my mind, 545 00:23:00,312 --> 00:23:01,814 I was like, you guys   are supporting me. 546 00:23:01,814 --> 00:23:04,450 I would love when this   is over, when we can, 547 00:23:04,450 --> 00:23:08,053 to have all of these   pictures in the gallery here 548 00:23:08,053 --> 00:23:10,856 and have these people,   see these people again. 549 00:23:10,856 --> 00:23:12,958 I said, it might be five years. 550 00:23:12,958 --> 00:23:14,894 It might be whatever, I   don't know what it would be. 551 00:23:14,894 --> 00:23:18,764 And we're still kind of,   we're not having a reception 552 00:23:18,764 --> 00:23:21,600 because when we planned this in January, 553 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:24,036 when we started the pick, 554 00:23:24,036 --> 00:23:25,137 when we picked the date in January, 555 00:23:25,137 --> 00:23:27,172 everyone was sick with Omicron. 556 00:23:27,172 --> 00:23:31,377 So it was, we thought we can't announce an opening 557 00:23:31,377 --> 00:23:34,914 in February because it would just seem a little reckless, 558 00:23:34,914 --> 00:23:37,049 especially for a quarantine exhibit. 559 00:23:37,049 --> 00:23:39,118 But we're planning to hopefully 560 00:23:39,118 --> 00:23:41,654 have a closing reception in April. 561 00:23:41,654 --> 00:23:46,392 So that would be that's April 10th or somewhere near there. 562 00:23:46,392 --> 00:23:47,593 We'll figure it out. 563 00:23:47,593 --> 00:23:49,328 But yeah, so they were really supportive. 564 00:23:49,328 --> 00:23:54,166 So, that's why it's in these galleries is because, you know, 565 00:23:54,166 --> 00:23:57,036 this is where I was connected for the last four years. 566 00:23:57,036 --> 00:23:58,671 I no longer work here, 567 00:23:58,671 --> 00:24:00,939 but I still do freelance photography work 568 00:24:00,939 --> 00:24:03,776 for the Concourse building and Crosstown Arts 569 00:24:03,776 --> 00:24:06,879 and you know, whatever else comes along. 570 00:24:06,879 --> 00:24:09,481 - Yeah. So you're putting some of these photos 571 00:24:09,481 --> 00:24:11,483 in a book, right?   - Yes. 572 00:24:11,483 --> 00:24:15,220 The book will have one   image of every person 573 00:24:15,220 --> 00:24:16,789 or family that was shot. 574 00:24:16,789 --> 00:24:19,725 So it will be a 250-page   hardbound book 575 00:24:19,725 --> 00:24:21,660 and it will have   at least one image 576 00:24:21,660 --> 00:24:23,595 of every single family. 577 00:24:23,595 --> 00:24:25,964 - So what do you   have for the future? 578 00:24:25,964 --> 00:24:30,970 - Actually, I'm looking, I'm supposed to meet today, 579 00:24:34,373 --> 00:24:36,375 Craig Brewer and I are, 580 00:24:36,375 --> 00:24:40,946 and Jodi Brewer are working   on a studio space to share, 581 00:24:40,946 --> 00:24:42,981 so it, but it has   to be built out. 582 00:24:42,981 --> 00:24:44,683 So that could be six weeks. 583 00:24:44,683 --> 00:24:47,386 That could be, I don't know, two months or more, 584 00:24:47,386 --> 00:24:48,787 depends on how long that takes. 585 00:24:48,787 --> 00:24:50,322 But yeah, the plan is to open up, 586 00:24:50,322 --> 00:24:52,491 just kind of a basic photo studio, 587 00:24:52,491 --> 00:24:54,960 not in the style of Amurica across the street, 588 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:57,429 the old studio, 'cause that was really more an event space 589 00:24:57,429 --> 00:24:59,832 that was shared and used to rent out. 590 00:24:59,832 --> 00:25:02,601 This would just be more of a studio space. 591 00:25:02,601 --> 00:25:03,936 And see where it goes from there, 592 00:25:03,936 --> 00:25:06,872 'cause I've never really had a clean, you know, 593 00:25:06,872 --> 00:25:09,041 it's always been junked up. 594 00:25:09,041 --> 00:25:11,543 So we'll, you know, the plan is to just see what happens 595 00:25:11,543 --> 00:25:15,247 with a clean slate in another direction and yeah. 596 00:25:15,247 --> 00:25:16,482 See what happens. 597 00:25:16,482 --> 00:25:17,950 - And you gonna take Amurica back out? 598 00:25:17,950 --> 00:25:20,552 - The photo booth? - Yeah. 599 00:25:20,552 --> 00:25:23,389 - It has been out periodically for private events 600 00:25:23,389 --> 00:25:26,592 in the past month of just, just a couple days ago. 601 00:25:26,592 --> 00:25:29,995 So it's still, I mean the website still has it 602 00:25:29,995 --> 00:25:31,764 where you can book it for things 603 00:25:31,764 --> 00:25:33,565 because we can show up and wear masks 604 00:25:33,565 --> 00:25:36,802 and I've gotten to the point where, you know, 605 00:25:36,802 --> 00:25:39,204 it's gotten where like you do what you do. 606 00:25:39,204 --> 00:25:41,974 It's a little safer, you know, I don't feel, 607 00:25:41,974 --> 00:25:44,009 if the people hire me don't have a problem, 608 00:25:44,009 --> 00:25:45,177 I don't have a problem. 609 00:25:46,345 --> 00:25:47,646 I can keep myself protected if I want. 610 00:25:47,646 --> 00:25:49,782 So yeah, it's still there. 611 00:25:49,782 --> 00:25:52,184 It's still moving, it's just not open to the public. 612 00:25:52,184 --> 00:25:54,353 Like at Overton, you know, at places-- 613 00:25:54,353 --> 00:25:55,821 - You had it at Overton Square. 614 00:25:55,821 --> 00:25:58,057 - We used to sit out at Overton Square and places like that. 615 00:25:58,057 --> 00:25:59,858 But that also got just a little tough on me, you know, 616 00:25:59,858 --> 00:26:01,894 like standing out there 'til midnight. 617 00:26:01,894 --> 00:26:06,899 You know, and so we're inside the Concourse building 618 00:26:07,499 --> 00:26:09,034 when we are open to the public. 619 00:26:09,034 --> 00:26:11,136 That's usually 'cause it's sheltered. 620 00:26:11,136 --> 00:26:12,704 They have a huge atrium. 621 00:26:12,704 --> 00:26:15,107 They've been wonderful to me and you know, 622 00:26:15,107 --> 00:26:17,543 been able to work out where I can bring it inside 623 00:26:17,543 --> 00:26:19,044 and use it there. 624 00:26:19,044 --> 00:26:21,146 But we haven't really done it a lot because it's just, 625 00:26:21,146 --> 00:26:23,982 it's still been like just when you think you're ready to go, 626 00:26:23,982 --> 00:26:26,351 something happens and everybody gets shut down again. 627 00:26:26,351 --> 00:26:29,588 So it's still the timing has just been off for that. 628 00:26:29,588 --> 00:26:32,090 But it still exists and it's still around. 629 00:26:32,090 --> 00:26:34,059 - Well, Jamie Harmon, thank you so much 630 00:26:35,661 --> 00:26:36,862 for taking time with us today 631 00:26:36,862 --> 00:26:38,096 and showing us around these photographs 632 00:26:38,096 --> 00:26:42,067 and thank you for documenting Memphis 633 00:26:42,067 --> 00:26:45,370 at a really strange and unique time. 634 00:26:45,370 --> 00:26:46,738 - Thanks for having me. 635 00:26:46,738 --> 00:26:49,341 [upbeat blues music] 636 00:27:19,104 --> 00:27:21,106 [acoustic guitar chords]