“People say you have to travel to see the world. Sometimes I think that if you just stay in one place and keep your eyes open, you’re going to see just about all that you can handle.” – Paul Auster

In February 2020, we learned that COVID had reached Belgium, and we were heading into an indefinite lockdown. Though confused like many, my instincts told me this was an opportunity.

The first thing I did was clear our beautiful Magnolia tree, the focal point of our garden, which had been overtaken by Wisteria. I had already been shooting film again with my Pen EE2, which had sparked something in me, but I wanted more. So I backed up my computer, setting aside all my commercial work—a clean slate. I needed to reconnect with myself, with photography, with personal creative work. I wasn’t going to waste a single second of this unexpected "free time."

I had a Hasselblad that hadn’t seen any action in a while and an expired roll of film. I needed to start something. I’ve always been fond of Harvey Keitel as Auggie in Smoke, taking the same picture every day.

So I loaded the camera, set it on a tripod, and for 12 days—the length of the roll—I photographed my garden, every day, with the Magnolia always in view. But I couldn’t get the film developed at the time, and it sat untouched for four years. I didn’t throw it away. It waited, patiently.

In September 2024, I bought an old Yashica-Mat 124 and shot a roll of film. When I went to develop it, I found one of the last neighborhood photography shops. The owner and I connected immediately—he still developed 120 film. Serendipity. I handed him the garden film too, not knowing what to expect.

This is My Covid Garden.