60 Days Of Lockdown

Well who would have thought I would be blogging about such a thing. Covid-19, you really are a son of a bitch! I think when we first heard about this thing, nobody could have predicted that this would happen. As a wedding photographer it really has been a shock to the system. I was sooo looking forward to 2020. I had so many amazing weddings coming up. Luckier than many, I managed to get 3 weddings in before this pandemic happened. I think it’s fair to say that my best of 2020 is going to be quite minimum.

Lockdown

Boris came on the tele and confirmed all the rumours, “YOU MUST STAY AT HOME” No work for me and Lucy, no school for my little girl Layla and Tommy couldn’t go to his childminders anymore. All weddings coming up cancelled! “What the hell are we going to do?” What can we do? I poured me and Lucy a glass of wine and got my camera out. I created a folder on my computer and named it “Covid-19” then started snapping away. I would document the day, then edit all the photos when the kids had gone to bed. I take photographs for a living but it has been such a long time that I set a project for myself. Honestly, I have always found it hard taking pictures of my own children. That is something Lucy is amazing at. It has kept me sane that’s for sure. I definitely think it has made me a better photographer too.

Weddings

At first it was scary I’m sure everyone will agree. Wedding after wedding needing to postpone. First thing I thought is I need to make my couples priority, what an awful time it must be for them. All the build up and excitement made so uncertain and worrying. The way I started seeing it is, we are just on hold, we have been paused, everything! Our holidays, our plans, weddings! They will happen again, we just need to wait longer that’s all. I can’t express how amazing my couples have been during this crazy time. We have managed to move pretty much every wedding with minimum fuss. You have been truly amazing and I will forever be grateful to every one of you. Thank you so much!

Slowly Getting Eased

The hardest thing for me in all this has been my parents not being able to hold and play with their grand kids. We are lucky enough to live just around the corner so can walk round and chat to them through the window. My eldest son Ethan who does not live with us has to talk to his little brother and sister through the window or at 2 metres distance at the front door, he hasn’t stepped foot in our house since day 1 of lockdown. I really can’t imagine how hard it has been for people not being able to see loved ones for months.

As one hour outdoor exercise got made into unlimited outdoor exercise, we started to take walks on the fields around the back. I have made sure to take my camera with me on our little walks.

Some days have been tough and I wont lie, some days have been the best of my life! For someone who works alone from home quite a lot of the week, spending so much time with my family has been truly wonderful. I named my journal “Isolation”, to be honest I don’t really feel isolated anymore. We go out for walks and there are many people about now, the roads are 10 times busier, it’s slowly but surely getting back to normal, or as normal as normal can ever be again. It has been a very strange time that’s for sure, definitely one for the grand kids. I look forward to seeing my family, friends and my wedding couples soon. Oh will we have some party!

Here’s just a few from the journal…

Child – “How old are you, Grandma?” Grandma – “I’m 81, dear.” Child – “So does that mean you were alive during the Coronavirus?” Grandma – “Yes, I was.” Child – “Wow. That must have been really horrible, Grandma. We were learning about that at school this week. They told us about how all the schools closed. And mum’s and dads couldn’t go to work so didn’t have as much money to do nice things. They said that you weren’t allowed to go and visit your friends and family and couldn’t go out anywhere. They told us the shops ran out of lots of things so you didn’t have much bread, and flour, and toilet rolls. They said that Summer holidays were cancelled. And they told us about all those thousands of people that got very poorly and who died. They explained about the NHS and how hard all the doctors and nurses and all NHS workers worked, and that lots of them died, too. That must have been so horrible, Grandma!”

Grandma – “Well, that is all correct. And I know that because I read about it when I was older. But to tell you the truth I remember it differently… I remember playing in the garden for hours with Mum and Dad and having picnics outside and lots of barbecues. I remember making things with my Dad and baking with my Mum. I remember making dens with my little brother and teaching him how to do hand stands and back flips. I remember having quality time with my family. I remember Mum’s favorite words becoming ‘Hey, I’ve got an idea…’ Rather than ‘Maybe later or tomorrow I’m a bit busy’. I remember making our own bread and pastry. I remember having film night three or four times a week instead of just one. It was a horrible time for lots of people you are right. But I remember it differently.” Remember how our children will remember these times. Be in control of the memories they are creating right now, so that through all the awful headlines and emotional stories for so many that they will come to read in future years, they can remember the happy times. – Author Unknown