For many, Covid-19 Lockdown has been a very difficult time presenting many challenges whether directly related to the virus or related to isolation, family dynamics, home schooling and all the rest. Despite having a daughter who was obliged to isolate from the end of March through to the end of June and a brother who was admitted to hospital with the virus, I have endeavoured to maintain a positive attitude. I was helped along the way by a resourceful daughter who managed to keep her self occupied with long lie ins, productive time working on university assignments, lots of reading, socialising with friends through Zoom quiz nights and group games on a Switch. I discovered the benefits of Office 365 and home working and in any free time, I took advantage of the opportunity to grow my camera skills going out at every opportunity to take pictures and watching YouTube tutorials when confined indoors.
Restrictions were such that I could only walk within a certain radius. In fact when we first went into Lockdown I did venture further from my backdoor starting my walk very early in the morning, setting out before sunrise. Despite the distance I walked I only encountered one cyclist and one equestrian but no one on foot. Nevertheless, when I posted my photos I received such a lashing on social media that I didn’t dare venture so far again. However, once I picked myself up from the social media outburst and stuck to ‘local’ in its truest form I found that there was no better way to refine my skills. I was able to develop an intimate knowledge of my local area. I was able to pick out places to visit depending on that morning’s weather. I found that on a misty morning the best places were either near water or in a meadow where, at sunrise, when the warmer air reaches the dewy grass, the condensation results in low swirling mists. On frosty mornings I would select my macro lens to photograph ice encrusted celandines or fritillary with bokeh as the frosty grasses melted. I found the woodland areas whose secrets were spotlit by shafts of light as the sun rose. I found the optimum place to capture the dappled light of late afternoon and evening. I had long searched a suitable place to capture sunsets locally but I found it. As the months progressed I was able to calculate when to return to a particular site to capture the sun bursting through the trees. I was able to discern the roe deers’ favourite browsing spots and I learnt how to get closer undetected.
I discovered promising locations which I just knew could be transformed into something spectacular in a different light. I learnt that grand vistas don’t require long journeys to far off places that have been photographed many times over. We have so much beauty on our doorstep and I have valued the opportunity to appreciate it. Many of the photos on my website were taken locally during this lockdown period.
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