For a creative the global lockdown can be a freeing experience or a stifling one, or both. It all depends on what you want to create. Writing these blogs at the moment is a great creative exercise in this period but writing also needs the fuel of experience and emotion, not just information. And experiences at home for 21 days can be quite mundane. As a photographer being locked into your own home can be a daunting prospect, but I decided to climb this mountain and not just write this blog or write songs. I resolved to point the camera at the everyday elements of my life during the lockdown with a little help from the genre of black and white photography. It makes it somewhat easier stripping away all of the colour in the setting that is my house so that you are left with the basic shapes and patterns surrounding you.
It still is difficult because I get bored with it and I run out of ideas but the best trick I have is basic photography 101. I just get off my butt, grab my camera and just walk around. I move around the rooms in the house. I walk up and down my front yard, sometimes at night, looking like some dodgy dude with a camera. I sometimes just sit, camera in hand, on the back door steps with a cup of coffee and look around the yard and beyond. To make it interesting or rather challenging yesterday I only allowed myself to use a 70-200mm lens. When I saw shots near me I had to move away and find other angles than if I had my 50mm and that created new interest in me and photos that are different.
Here is the thing, if you decide there is a photo to be had, there is going to be a photo. It is like that with everything in life. If we sink into despair during this time, just waiting out the lockdown before we create we will become less creative. If we decide that we are going to create a song, and album, a book, a website, a painting or anything for that matter regardless of circumstances and challenges we will end up with something of worth. And that created thing will multiply creativity in us that will lead to more created things. I believe this global lockdown will lead to the creation of new groundbreaking businesses, ideas, art and other inspiring things. This virus will change the way we view and do a lot of things. Be it good or bad depends on you. Keep creating, move forward, be positive and fight for the good in everything.
Remember there is always a photo.
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