66 Days: Paradise Interrupted

"Haunting, Surreal, Pristine: "Key West: 66 Days of Paradise, Interrupted"" Explored a Deserted Key West During COVID-19 Lockdown"" Visit Pirate Radio Key West website: https://pirateradiokeywest.com/ Visit Howard Livings Ton website: https://howardlivingston.com/ As officials removed Florida Keys' two controversial COVID-19 checkpoints and life slowly returned to ""normal"" for residents who had been under lockdown for more than two months, I was proud to share my short film that visually chronicled Key West's isolation: ""Key West: 66 Days of Paradise, Interrupted"" was a rare insider's look at the world-famous tourist hotspot like never before... as a surreal quiet paused Key West's bustling nightlife, prolific local music/art scene, and the quirky allure that had made this tropical paradise home to literary greats such as Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, and Judy Blume. With access reserved strictly for locals and essential workers, I shot this footage at the height of Key West's quarantine in mid-May while I was there hosting a food drive on behalf of my nonprofit. I used a DJIA Osmo with 1080p motion stabilization and hyperlapse to capture striking scenes of such quintessential Key West destinations as the Southernmost Point Buoy (only 90 miles to Cuba), Sloppy Joe's, Mallory Square, Garrison Bight, Duval Street, the Ernest Hemingway Home, Pier House Resort, and Higgs and Smathers beaches, all minus the throngs of visitors. Getting the opportunity to shoot behind the checkpoints, I knew I was capturing history, as the Keys had never experienced such a long and enduring shutdown, whether facing hurricanes, the Mariel Boatlift, or even near abandonment during the Great Depression. There were no boarded-up storefronts and signs like you'd see just before or after a storm. Instead, Key West looked absolutely pristine while in hibernation... just without the people. This was something nobody had seen before, and we hoped nobody would see again. The result was a dramatic visual perspective: a strange, tranquil beauty in the near-overnight disappearance of tourism, yet one fraught with foreboding as the city's chief economy vanished with it. While the unprecedented Florida Keys lockdown resulted in a much smaller number of COVID-19 cases and deaths than most counties, the area's employment rate went from Florida's lowest to the state's second-highest in just a matter of months. Yet, even though my short film chronicled measures for which the long-term impact was unknown at the time of filming, it also shared a message of upbeat optimism as the Florida Keys lockdowns were lifted (effective June 1) and the region's return to being better than ever was only a matter of ""Key West Time,"" as Howard Livingston's classic song goes. Life returned, and Key West would rise again to be the quirky and charming melting pot that made it truly one of my favorite places in the world. This was my love letter to Key West and the resilient, pull-together spirit of its people, who would undoubtedly come back better than ever, as they always had. Key West wasn't my first COVID-19 footage locale. Using a Mavic 2 Pro drone, I also captured stunning footage of a deserted South Beach in lockdown and a vacant Ocean Drive at night. Location in Key West, Florida March 2020