Lockdown photos at home
When a family photographer can't work for weeks on end, it's time for some lockdown photos at home...
Lockdown
A week before the official UK Coronavirus lockdown started, we were self isolating at home. We were caught on the back foot a bit, without the necessary stockpiles of toilet roll and pasta. Friends dropped over food parcels (some included gin!). We felt worried. Panicked. Scared.
I wanted to capture this peculiar time and try to express how we were all feeling. So, in the beginning, I took a handful of images of my kids looking out of the windows. It felt right to look serious. The future was uncertain and bleak for many in the UK and around the world.
After a while, we got into a rhythm. I'm a list writer and planner by nature and I soon had a schedule pinned on the fridge (cue everyone else in the house rolling their eyes). We started to slow down. We slept longer and stayed up later. When it was warm over the Easter 'break', we pretended to be on holiday and we'd meet up in the late afternoon to drink coke (or gin and tonic) and play cards. We decorated the windows with rainbows for the local children to spot. We started to go out for walks and bike rides. I calmed down a bit.
Creating
After a few weeks, I picked up my camera and started to experiment. I tried different things, like shooting indoors. I did a whole ballet shoot around the house with my son, to show how he's keeping up with his practice at home. You can see the Lockdown Ballet shoot on the blog. The images got featured on the Covid-19 related art website - United Art Gallery!
One day, whilst trying to help to my daughter with her history work, I noticed the variety of coloured books on the bookshelf in my office. I had an idea - to create a rainbow of books. Something pretty and joyful. I grabbed an armful of books and presented them to my son. He's a perfectionist and expert on rainbows, so I asked him to blend the colours for me. My daughter, reluctantly, lay down on the itchy grass so I could take the picture (see below).
I took photos of her with the bluebells (all gone now) and learning to skate with a penny board we found under the stairs. March ended, April sped by and now it's the middle of May.
We don't know how long this situation will last. We're trying to take each day at a time and think about all the wonderful front line NHS staff and key workers out there, risking their safety every day.
I'm looking forward to being able to get together again with clients, whether it's in weeks or months, I'll be raring to go when the time comes.
More ideas
In the meantime, you can follow me on Instagram to see what I'm getting up to - I've got a few more ideas that I want to try out!
Stay safe everyone.
Gem x
