For the past five weeks, Brooklyn-based photographer David Brandon Geeting has been confined to his cramped railroad apartment, self-isolating during the coronavirus pandemic. Geeting is known for his quirky still life compositions, whimsical images that combine disparate textures with everyday objects. Back in 2017, Geeting’s distinctive look showed up in WIRED’s Gadget Lab section. These days though, with New York City under lockdown as one of the world’s hardest-hit Covid-19 hotspots, he’s freeing himself from the directives of art departments and making work for what he calls a “self-quarantine residency.” The cabin fever-induced result, made in collaboration with prop-stylist-slash-girlfriend Lina Sun Park, is a playful series of images that Geeting hopes can offer some coronavirus counterprogramming.
This is the second installment in a continuing project in which WIRED photo editors speak with photographers about their experiences during Covid-19 self-isolation. The following interview has been edited for clarity.
Beth Holzer: Are you doing this series from your home, or do you have a studio that you’re going to?
David Brandon Geeting: I do have a studio, but I didn’t go there to make this work. I’m just working from home with what I have. I’ve been working with a really minimal kit during this pandemic: three flashes, a couple of lenses, and that’s basically it. Instead of walking around outside looking for inspiration like I normally do, I walk around looking at my apartment and coming to terms with what I have. I think to myself, “Is there potential in any of this stuff?”
How do you decide