It has now been more than two weeks since I took my last photograph. This break was enforced by the unprecedented steps being taken to control coronavirus and an unrelated personal illness. My thanks go to all the people, including family members, caring for and supporting others at this time of need; stay safe everyone.
As this blog often explains, I am always keen to learn with the aim of improving my photography. For many years that meant taking more photographs, learning how to process them, promoting my work in competitions, social media, clubs etc., gaining feedback, and striving for better results. In many respects it was all about the final image.
A few years ago I changed my focus and started working on developing the whole photography experience with a simple aim of enjoying the activity regardless of the outcome. However, one aspect of the experience I had never considered as an issue was the freedom to go out taking photographs. The restriction of the lockdown has brought home how I have taken this simple pleasure for granted and when this crisis is over, I will be thankful for an opportunity to get again with a renewed enthusiasm for familiar subjects.
In the meantime, I step back to mid February and a series of photographs taken in Nottingham City centre. They represent at this current time an expression of creative free will; the ability to wonder, stop, select a subject and attend to the abstract qualities of a weathered metal barrier.
Taken as a whole, the barrier is purely functional, holding back a grass bank from collapsing onto the canal towpath. Its dowdiness makes it potentially ugly yet when it is observed close up drips of rust combine with forgotten paint to present a beauty that hides in full view:
