In mid-October 2023, Gina and I signed up for a health challenge that required us to exercise for a certain amount of time every day. I work a 4-10 schedule, with my workday starting at 5:30 a.m. The drive to and from work takes a little over 30 minutes. Usually, I work three 11-hour days, from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m., and then I’m off at noon on Thursdays.
It didn’t take long to realize that trying to fit the full 45 minutes of exercise into the evening, while also spending time with Gina and the boys, was going to be pretty difficult. Being an early riser, I decided to set my alarm 30 minutes earlier than usual and take a 20-ish-minute walk every morning before leaving for work.
Some people think I’m crazy—that waking up around 3:30 a.m. to go for a walk is a rather horrific idea—but I’ve really come to treasure those walks. At first, they were just about exercise. Then I restarted playing Pokémon Go and spent much of the time trying to “catch ’em all.”
But one particular morning made me close the app and open my camera. It was November 15, and the moon was low in the western sky, shining brightly through wispy clouds. I had to stop and take a quick picture.
And then I had to take another photo a few dozen yards down the street.
And then another a few blocks further on.
Just for fun, after I returned home, I decided to post the three images to Instagram.
I repeated this the next morning, and the next, and the next. It seemed like a great way to work my “creative muscles,” especially since I find it hard to get out and photograph as often as I’d like.
If you follow me on Instagram and have seen these posts, you’ve probably noticed a pattern: I always share three images, except for one post where I accidentally included a fourth. That first morning, I took only three pictures. The next day, I took more, but since I had shared just three images the first day, I decided to stick with that number. By the third day, it felt like a fun approach, and it became a tradition.
This process has been a great way to think curatorially—to edit and select which images to include. While I don’t claim to be great at it, this practice is giving another set of “creative muscles” some attention.
My walks have become so much more than just walks. They’ve become a way for me to truly get to know my neighborhood. Where I once simply knew the streets, I’m now noticing homes, trees, and yards. What started as hasty records has grown into something more meaningful. The images I capture now feel like part of a larger story, and I’m beginning to contemplate how they might fit into a grander, more deliberate body of work.
I don’t have any concrete conclusions yet, but I’m having a lot of fun making these images. On that note, I thought I’d share some of the photos I’ve made over the last few months.
