Smiling Through a Lockdown
Difficult and challenging times for all, around the world.
First, I’d like to wish you all well, and hope you are doing the best for yourself and others through this unique, if unwelcome, situation.
I am currently on week 2 of isolation. The British Government announced a few days ago a nationwide lockdown, but I had to start earlier as I am full-time carer for my mother with health issues that put her in the very high-risk category should she be infected by the Covid-19 virus. It was advised for people in her position, and those living with them, to ‘self isolate’ for 12 weeks.
Apart from very occasional visits to the grocers and pharmacy to collect prescription medications I, like billions of others, are severely limited by location.
Managing the physical and mental challenges has been an interesting ‘problem-solving exercise’. Physically I have been doing step-ups, weights and stretching. Mentally, a lot of reading.
It also made me think about my photography. I am currently scanning slides/transparencies created between 1978 and 2006 when I got my first digital camera. It is very time consuming, but invaluable. I am experimenting with a DSLR using a macro lens with a transparency taped to a window and using an Epson flatbed scanner. The former appears to give better quality. The latter is more efficient.
Other projects and personal development include:
- black and white image creation. Both digital and film (analogue).
- Creative self-portraits
- Garden nature – Spring is making an appearance and looking wonderful
An ongoing project is one that helps me mentally. I have been looking through my image collection and the ones that often bring a smile to my face are the images where the people in them are smiling. For me, the image also brings back many great memories and experiences that created the smiles in the first place. If I am having doubt, or struggling to be positive, or even getting on with the projects and ideas I am working on, the ‘Smile Collection’ usually shifts my spirit to a better place.
The collecting is gradually expanding and can be viewed at Rob Thomas Photography Instagram
A taste of the images follow:
Rob Thomas Photography 