@stephbcphoto 

www.stephaniebcphoto.com 

Fashion/Commercial Photographer, Creative Direction 

New York, New York

How are you living the quarantine? Fears and dreams? 

I’ve had to modify my usual photography work calendar since the start of the quarantine. I start off my day doing online workouts from my gym, Rumble Boxing and make a smoothie (frozen fruit of course!) I’m currently doing work-from-home freelance retouching and working on my fine-art book. As a break, I water my plants and maybe take some fun selfies here or there haha. I usually have such a fast-paced professional life and it’s interesting to see everything in the world come to a halt. The pressures of a competitive industry have been temporarily tranquillized. 

Fears: My mother was visiting Taipei, Taiwan in February and that’s when I started closely monitoring the virus status - which seemed to be at an early stage of exponential growth. The United States officials saw what was occurring in China and Italy and refused to take it seriously until the past few weeks. Amidst the rise of the pandemic, I was publicly attacked with racial slurs on the New York City subway system. I’ve even gotten unpleasant comments and DMS from random people. I’ve seen reports of Asian Americans dealing with physical assault, vandalism, being spat on, knife stabbings, and other various forms of harassment. The pandemic has triggered racist and xenophobic attacks all over the world, seemingly more and more confrontational as time progresses. Being an Asian American who has dealt with bigotry growing up in Texas, I’d like to say I’ve got a tough shell... but in uncertain times like these, I have to admit I’m a bit fearful of how people act under such pressures. 

Dreams: I hope that the heroic medical professionals, grocery store workers, sanitation workers, everyone we are indebted to, make it through alive and sane. I hope we acknowledge the environmental impact of the temporarily decreased emissions, zoonosis emergence due to agricultural intensification, and change the relationship between humanity and nature. I hope the world is able to come together in such times and proceed with love and care for our neighbours from all around the world, from different backgrounds and walks of life. 

Personal Daydreams: I miss my friends and family! Being on set for photoshoots! Working with creative teams! Cocktails on patios! Live music! Gallery shows! Fashion parties! Usually, in springtime, I like to wander through the bustling streets of New York City but I can only see the change in season from my window now. 

What is your soundtrack? 

I’ve been listening to a wide variety of music, from John Coltrane to Modeselektor to Brockhampton. My friend Jenn has started a “PF Presents: Sunday Funday” series where she livestreams a roster of musicians on Twitch. Music definitely keeps my workdays going!