Evening downtown skyline along the shores of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 10, 2020.

For a very long time I’ve wanted to make the trip up from Chicago and spend a few days photographing Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Between spending a number of days during my youth in the city and living 96 miles away, I knew Milwaukee had a lot to offer. My idea was drive up one afternoon, shoot late into the night, get up early the next morning to shoot some more, then head back home. It’d be a whirlwind, but I’d get a chance to explore the city and grab some images. Life happens, however, and I never found time to do it.

Fast forward to the dumpster fire of a year that was 2020. The Democratic National Convention was scheduled to take place in Milwaukee, and as a result of the coronavirus nearly the entire thing was scrapped. Out of an abundance of caution, a major news outlet called and hired me to be a backup guy. My job, literally, was to live in a hotel for two weeks and stay safe and healthy.

My colleague — whom I was to replace if he fell ill — had to be at work everyday at 8am and plan out the logistics of the ever-changing beast that is a political rally during a worldwide pandemic. I, on the other hand, had to make the decision of what I was going to have for lunch.

Living in a hotel for such a long period of time is interesting, to say the least. I’m grateful for regular video chats with my family, and my hotel room’s balcony. I’m also glad I brought along my camera.

Having so much downtime, it was nice to escape for a couple of hours each night and shoot the sunset. I’d go for a run in the morning and scope out a few locations, then go back at sunset to see what I could capture. Two weeks in one city gave me a lot of time to explore. A ton of time, really. Much more than I usually get on a typical college football or basketball trip, and certainly much more than I’d get on a whirlwind overnight stay in the city. 

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