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Back in the early days of the pandemic—as editorial shoots ground to a halt, sending models like Bella Hadid into high-fashion selfie mode—Quil Lemons feared the worst. “I was like, Oh shit! Well, I had a nice run as a photographer. It is all over,” he said in a recent call, with a teasing wink in his voice. “The OnlyFans might start itself soon because I have no idea what I’m going to make of this world.”
Lemons didn’t need to worry. The Philadelphia native, who graduated last year from the New School in Manhattan, has already proven to be a fresh addition to the field. He posed his baby brother in giant sneakers for a digital Valentino project; New York magazine tapped him to shoot the musician Thundercat. Last fall, when writer-curator Antwaun Sargent published The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art and Fashion, Lemons and his Glitterboy series earned a place in the book.
The initial restlessness of quarantine, spent back home with his mother, stepfather, and four younger siblings, led Lemons to get creative. He started a new portrait series—appropriately titled Hey, Can I FT You?—featuring a couple dozen friends, including rapper Kari Faux and curator Kimberly Drew. “That was a fun way to get back into the swing of having a regimented time to ‘show up to set,’ in quotation marks,” Lemons said. Not long after, he found himself on FaceTime with Pamela Anderson, shooting her from afar for the New York Times. Meanwhile, protests shook the country. In lieu of the annual Pride parade, thousands marched in Brooklyn in support of the Black queer community. And on June 19, Lemons—newly arrived in Seattle to reunite with his boyfriend, Matthew Sorensen—turned 23. “I never even knew, growing up, that my birthday was on Juneteenth, in the middle of Pride month,” he said, reflecting on overlooked history as well as his own “kind of radical” existence. It was the right excuse to enjoy a low-key three days, chronicled here, where wellness arrived in the form of beach hikes, a Love, Victor binge fest, and Washington’s finest weed.
Wednesday, June 17
9:30 a.m.: Kind of a slow start, laying in bed with Matthew all morning. We were up last night, soaking in the jacuzzi that we have at our Airbnb; we also started binge-watching the first few episodes of Love, Victor. Michael Cimino is so cute and sweet. He’ll prob be Twitter’s boy of the month in July. I’m excited to see where the season goes.
My morning texts start with my manager, Jess Moloney, and my darkroom printer, Natalie. I’m receiving scans today from a personal series I’ve been working on since the start of quarantine. I photographed my family, this time in a raw, super gritty way. You really get to see a slice into my life. I have this really cool image of my mom’s stomach. I wanted to subvert what people think a stomach should actually look like after you give birth to four kids—this idea of perfection.
12 p.m.: I finally roll out of bed and finish answering emails and doing Zoom calls. I debate what I should watch on Hulu. I’ve seen every new show, from Shrill to High Fidelity. I’m running out of things to watch! It was definitely nice to be home, but I feel like myself here. No one's expecting me to perform as Quil and be an older brother and or be the parent [figure].
2 p.m.: We begin driving to the beach for our daily outing. It’s funny how we used to take going outside for granted, and now it’s a luxury. It’s a sweet privilege to have the beach be a ten-minute drive away now. I can’t drive, so I should say Matthew drives. I take a bunch of selfies.
6 p.m.: We're back home, smoking weed and figuring out what we’re going to make for dinner.
I’m debating if I’m going to finish reading Giovanni's Room, by James Baldwin. I started the book last month, and now I’m, like, omg, is he gonna kill him? I do this thing I’ve done since high school, and highlight every word I’m unsure of and look it up as I go. I also highlight my favorite quotes, too—they help with naming a future photo series.
Thursday, June 18
10 a.m.: I woke up! This morning we watch Wendy. I love getting the hot gossip from Wendy [Williams]! She always has tea! Then I make the most fire bacon, eggs, and cheese. I wasn’t able to cook as much when I was back home. My mom does all the cooking, and it’s a very different type of ordeal when you’re cooking for seven people than when you’re cooking for two. It’s really nice to have a full kitchen without children running around. My grandmother is from the South, so she hates the idea of milk and cereal. Someone needs to be cooking for it to be considered a breakfast.
11 a.m.: I have a call with the Vanity Fair photo team to catch up and plot moves. We talk about our fav shows in quarantine. I tell them about how Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington sent my wig into the stratosphere with their acting in Little Fires Everywhere—also Lexi Underwood, aka Pearl, was giving them a run for their money. She’s one to watch.
12 p.m.: I speak to Kari Faux on FaceTime. We chat about all current events and pop culture. She congratulates me on being a part of See In Black, [the photography collective and sale]. Josh [Kissi] and Micaiah [Carter]’s rollout was flawless, so everyone had been messaging me all week, wondering what we were going to drop. I chose a photo of my little sister, Zuri. She’s 11, and already she looks so different than when I shot her in Batsheva. I’m, like, this is me sending my family’s love to whoever is receiving the photo.
2 p.m.: I head to the beach to get some sun and fresh air. There are a bunch of high school kids nearby, screaming “summer 2020” and drinking beer. It’s nice to see, but also so weird due to COVID. I question if “summer 2020” is even a thing anymore. I guess it gives me hope to know the party must go on!
7 p.m.: Ahh, we make the most fire ribs on the grill and then get in the hot tub.
Basically every night we take an edible. We definitely are transcendent in this house. We are not available after the hour of 8 p.m. because that’s when the edible has kicked in and we are zoned into a movie or a show. We finish all ten episodes of Love, Victor. We need more! It was adorable. Can Season 2 start filming now?
I heard a rumor that New York City might completely legalize marijuana for financial reasons due to COVID. I’m, like, OK, but there needs to be a whole nationwide reform, going into everyone’s criminal records and removing all marijuana offenses, especially when it comes to Black and brown communities. Our country really needs to change a lot of these systems.
Friday, Juneteenth, aka my birthday
9 a.m.: I wake up and open my first gift from Matt: a pair of Jacquemus sunglasses. Then we take two shots of whiskey. I know, super casual!
Matt now thinks he’s a grill dad, so he begins cooking sausages on the barbecue to go with an egg scramble and toast.
11 a.m.: I open the rest of my gifts. Matt framed my cover of Pamela Anderson from the New York Times. This is my first time seeing the story IRL! And he got me the Bong Appetit cookbook. I’m, like, wow, this guy knows me too well.
12 p.m.: We’re getting ready for a hike, but...I’m instructed I cannot leave just yet as another surprise is coming! A package arrives from Jess Moloney and Renell Medrano. They got me Mickalene Thomas’s Aperture book, Muse. Also, my friend Kristen Joy Watts’s package arrives at the same time. She sent me two bottles of Black-made whiskey from a local Black-owned liquor store. I love them all so much!
1 p.m.: We go on a hike, which is just an excuse to leave the house and put on a fantastic outfit. I threw on a little Kapital, my favorite Japanese brand, with a bit of Jacquemus. Put my grill in for good measure—casual Northwestern hiking attire. No one stared. Blended right in just like one of the locals!
It’s a three-mile hike to the beach, going down cliff sides. It’s such a change of scenery. It reminds me how small we all are, when I see these huge trees that have been here longer than we have. Matt gets a call and will not tell me who it was, but tells me we have to head back. We get to the house, and our friend Leo Nguyen is here hiding! I’m, like, “You bitch!” and then hug him. I can’t believe he drove up three hours from Portland to say happy birthday and bring me an apple pie.
4 p.m.: Now I’m making baked mac and fried chicken!
8 p.m.: We do a Zoom bday with all of my close friends. It was so lovely to see them! Matt and I put on extravagant outfits, and they were, like, “You guys look like the gay uncles we always want to emulate.” This is literally what we aspire to be! It’s so sad to see that COVID is really impacting the fashion industry. A lot of smaller brands are having to close, like Sies Marjan—RIP. One of my big editorial stories was shooting [the label] for Out magazine. Things are coming and going, and it’s a weird time for everyone that’s living through this. There was a Times article about people not being able to sleep: It’s because we’re going through a mass rebirth and reset. Finally these are the first nights where I'm getting a full eight hours.
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