Sheltered in Place

Jeremy Trager

Most of the photographs included here were all taken during the COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place order. Until last week, the absence of tourists, of even the local crowd, made New Orleans feels disarmingly vast. The French Quarter felt haunted by absent friends. Cars vanished from the Bywater. The bustle of bars, restaurants, and musicians dissipated; the relentless blowing of train whistles seemed to be the only constant. Wandering the Marigny, I felt like its resplendent homes, meticulously crafted, reflected the character of those sheltering inside. No longer conversation pieces or backdrops, they were full of life, and living things in their own right. They sang. They danced. They waited. 

Out of that silence and that waiting, eventually the killing that catalyzed a movement re-awakened the streets of New Orleans. A movement driven by urgency that just happened to coincide with a reopening guided by expediency.

In these photos, I tried to capture the essence of that arc in silent moments—the traces of life left behind in empty places.    

Jeremy Trager is an MFA candidate at the Creative Writing Workshop of the University of New Orleans, with a specialization in playwriting. His plays have been read at the UNO Playwrights Festival and Bailiwick Chicago. You can see more of his photography at www.instagram.com/nightmarigny