The Coronavirus has been really tough on everybody. Being in quarantine has opened up a whole set of challenges that have never been experienced by most people before. After weeks of not going out of my apartment, I started to get really desperate to be out in nature and photograph some landscapes. I am not trying to take away from people who are truly suffering and have much greater challenges than being a little cooped up but I want to focus on what I gained from my experience. Not being allowed outside in the city or at least as minimally as possible at first was no problem, I focused on work which thankfully I was able to be working remotely, and like everyone else, I binge-watched Netflix.
After a few weeks, OK who am I kidding it was after a few days that I started to get the urge to get out in nature. At that point, I still felt it was better to stay in so I thought to myself what can I photograph to maybe scratch the itch a little. So I began to play around with things in my apartment, this leads to suggestion number 1.
1. Broaden your Photography Horizons
As someone who truly enjoys landscape photography, I have never spent any time at all photographing items and things around the house but here when I had no other alternatives I found some things that were a whole new set of challenges then I was used to. Here are a few of the things that I entertained myself with.
- Steam/Smoke - this was super fun but very challenging as the lighting needs to just right. You can use a cup of coffee or hot water. If you want something a bit easier try starting with some incense. Grab a black background and you will need a source of light to place on the side. This way you can have a dark set with lighting on the side to help illuminate the smoke.
- Books - I am an avid reader so it was great to see what kind of shots I could get with books. Really try and be creative and get a unique angle to make your photograph stand out
- Whiskey/Bottles - I love a nice glass of scotch in the evening so it was really fun to grab a whiskey glass and a bottle and photograph those (I thought that photographing the bottle through the cup laying on its side was really cool!)
So after trying to photograph everything in my small apartment I was back to square one. Now my next suggestion is something that I sometimes neglect and that is…
2. Catch Up on Editing
I don’t know about you but I take tons of photos when I am out and quite often they sit for quite some time before I get the chance to go through them and edit them. So this is a great task to tackle when stuck at home. It was also quite enjoyable to take that walk down memory lane and remember the trips take, landscapes photographed, and all the memories attached to each shoot. I know this can be a tedious task and that’s why I procrastinate but its totally worth it. The photos that I dug up and was able to polish up totally made it well with the effort and besides it’s not like I had anything better to be doing.
Ok so now it has been a few weeks and the above-mentioned substitutes for actually going outside and taking some beautiful landscape photographs have worn off and that urge to get out and go is back. Thankfully the restrictions have been relaxed but still better safe than sorry so I highly recommend for those suited, camping!
3. Camping
Camping is a great way to be in nature but still keeping one’s distance from large crowds of people. Many parks have campgrounds that are well spread out and can definitely provide a safe space for you to be out in nature. Another reason I enjoyed camping was that I am not a morning person so getting up to photograph sunrise has always been a challenge, but somehow when I am camping, getting up at sunrise and making a pot of coffee over the fire has been very enjoyable. The photos of sunrise are like no others, it has been said that sunrise is one of the best times to take photos.
I know you may be thinking that being out in nature is something that can be done while being totally isolated from others and I could have been doing it the whole time, unfortunately, I live in the city and its not easy for me to get out and into nature, but for those who have been able to be out and about in nature this whole time, I truly am jealous of you.
In short, I hope that everyone in their own challenges during this worldwide pandemic finds a way to cope and I hope that my two cents has been at least marginally helpful to those in similar positions as me and maybe humorous to the rest of you. Stay safe and be healthy!
