Together Apart

In this time many of us are not allowed to see the ones we love using virtual platforms is becoming much more common and to many, a necessity. We are from Two Harbors Minnesota which is a very small town with a population of under 3,000 and nobody’s a stranger. The relationships created with those around us impact us daily. Whether we realize it or not, simple everyday interactions are a crucial aspect of life as we know it. As soon as the world began to shut down, my girlfriend Calli and I were not allowed to see eachother anymore. It proved to be one of the biggest challenges that we would have to face.

We have been together for a little under a year, we became largely attached very quickly. We knew that it would be difficult to become divided, however we were determined to get through it. This was just the thick of the “thick and thin”. We quickly got creative about what we could do to social distance but still be together. including me sitting across the street from her house while calling on the phone to falling asleep on the phone shortly after.

As time went on we have become increasingly restless and troubled by the state of our country. It is very hard to maintain a relationship without physical contact and bonding activities. We were running only on what we had created before all this and the tank was sitting at empty. We had no way to really bond, we had tried mobile games, conversation starters, and joint activities in every possible way. Everything just did not seem like it would be enough to get us through. It feels like a long distance relationship that was taking place less than 100 feet away from each other.

This time has really taught us what keeps us strong because we were both feeling this lack of bonding but neither of us were giving up. Other couples in our town and people we are close to started falling apart. The town quickly became a romantic wasteland. Her and I had a mindset of knowing that these struggles would dissipate as time goes on. We just needed to find the most creative and romantic ways to stay afloat through the hard times. We had so much trust, communication, and honesty between us that We felt invincible.

As time went on, and quarantine trudged forward, we began to feel the same effects as the relationships around us. We knew we were spending too much time talking to each other on the phone but no amount of time felt like enough. We had hit rock bottom. We started fighting and the fights became constant. The small remarks turned into bullets shooting their way into our hearts but we still never gave up.

This picture means a lot to me because it shows us watching the sunset together, which is known to be a very romantic activity. With this we are saying that just because we can’t be together physically doesn’t mean we can’t be together and still be romantic, to do what couples do. She watched the sunset along with me and showed her face for the picture. These moments remind us of what’s important. We still had each other. Even as the world fell apart around us, we pulled through stronger. Yes we are different, but no relationship remains constant.. This is impactful for the same reasons as the cliche “together apart” phrase, but I was living it. As time goes by and things open up, I realize that Her and I have successfully weathered a great storm. Nullifying all physical contact has taught me to appreciate the little thing even more. I pay extra attention to how her hands feel and how hard I believe I can squeeze during a hug. Every minute spent with her has a new light and a new meaning. I’m not saying everything is perfect, but most of the time it really feels that way. Yes we disagree, we fight, and the world feels like it's crumbling down, but the little things always find a way to build us back up. Family, love, hope, and passion. Calli has taught me resilience and I could not appreciate it more. I now know what it’s like to hold on to something even when it hurts. This image represents hope for the future and adapting for it. Wanting something so bad and taking a leap of faith.

The picture:

This picture was taken at around 9 pm on a Monday evening. I have been into photo editing for a while so I will share everything I did to this picture. I used adobe light room for the editing and here is a list of effects I added:

Light:

Exposure: +.90

contrast : +5

Highlights: -70

Shadows: +70

Whites: +16

Blacks: -20

Color:

Temp: 5143

Tint: +6

Vibrance: +14

Saturation +75

Color mixer:

Green hue: +25

Green saturation: +14

Dark blue hue: +51

Effects:

Texture: +21

Vignette: -18

Detail:

Sharpening: 42

Noise reduction: 22

Airbrush: +.90 exposure to the phone screen