It’s been over a month since our quarantine has started. All contracts have been cancelled / postponed of course, but as a part-time optimist, I can see my silver lining: I can still be a productive photographer.
In this post, I’ll share what I’ve been doing when motivation and inspiration struck. If you’re a photographer or any kind of creative, hopefully you can get some ideas out of this post. I do want to mention that I feel lucky and I’m extremely grateful for my situation in these difficult times. Heck, even having the desire to be productive means that I’m lucky. Fred and I are off work, but we’re comfortable and have three lovely fuzzball roommates. (And in case you haven’t seen it and are interested, my previous post includes images of our daily life in self-isolation.)
1. Housekeeping. First on the list was the most obvious to me. Quarantine meant that I’d finally be able to tackle those housekeeping items that had been sitting on my checklists for too long. For me, this included doing a thorough cleaning of all my equipment, calibrating the focus on my lenses, re-doing an inventory of my gear, recording serial numbers for insurance purposes, etc.
2. Education. Levelling up new skills. Yesss. I’m always trying to improve as a photographer / artist / human, quarantine or not. My 2019 felt like a year during which I didn’t improve as much as I wanted to. So I came into 2020 with some momentum already. Now with more time on my hands, I’m hoping to put my desire for development into overdrive. I’ve been taking online photography courses, reading photography books, revisiting old photobooks. And I’ll also be looking outside of photography, something I don’t do enough. Art history, graphic design, drawing, etc.
3. Creating new work. A month in, I’ve taken 2,000 frames already. That’s not a valuable achievement per se, but it’s a proxy. It means I’m doing something, finding subjects despite the confinement, and not getting too rusty. I’m using the occasion to explore new styles and methods. And as a nature photographer, I’m trying to be more creative with my nature photography.
4. Re-scanning negatives. One weak point in my analog side has been self scanning my negatives. Scanning sounds deceptively simple, but it’s very difficult to get accurate colours. I’ve been learning new methods and finally found one that I’m happy with. So I’ve brought the scanner back from the studio and have been scanning old film, re-discovering photos.
Photo by Fred
5. Re-arranging spaces. Many photos that I take, particularly environmental portraits in my studio, are obviously tied with the space itself. After being in the same space for a while, it can be harder to be inspired, so a little shake up helps. I’ve been thinking of how to re-arrange my studio space, how to make it more cosy and less industrial.
6. Planning for the future. There’s the quarantine phase 1 that we’re now in. There’s going to be a post-quarantine phase 2, when we’re technically able to go out again, but most people won’t jump at the occasion of being photographed, so I’ll still consider the studio as relatively closed. And there’s going to be a post-vaccine/treatment phase 3, the closest thing to a “normal”. I’m trying to visualize how each of those phases will affect what I can do and plan my next steps accordingly. For example, one thing I want to do in phase 1 is connecting virtually with other photographers. I can always learn / be inspired. One thing for phase 2 will be buying paint and painting new backdrops like the one I’ve made here a few years ago. Phase 2 will likely have lots of nature photography as well. I’m trying to develop photo projects that will be feasible for each phase of our slow recovery.
I’ve got waves of motivation. I’ve realized that it’s important to not feel too much pressure for productivity. A common challenge during this self-isolation has been to balance out the pressure to be productive and the need for self-care. Consecutive Zoom meetings are surprisingly taxing, what’s that all about?
Take care of yourselves, thanks for reading, and see you soon!