Strange days indeed…That’s what we all say, well I’ve actually stopped saying it now, now it’s just a case of waiting I guess.
Due to my job I’m actually aloud to keep working, so I see the deserted streets in Liverpool City centre frequently. Well not completely deserted, there are still people shopping for food and workers who need to work going about their business.
Strangely though it occurred to me that I’ve always sought out isolated figures over the years in my street photography. I’ve hated the crowded streets where everyone has a shopping bag or is on a mobile phone, I’ve found no poetry in that kind of picture.
But now I have no interest in photographing such things, mainly of course because I don’t think it’s appropriate to be out taking pictures during a lockdown, it’s not essential, but it also feels more intrusive than ever.
Woman smoking on bench
I could snap a shot here and there on my way to work, but really it’s the last thing I feel like doing. Please don’t get me wrong, photography has always been the way to record history in its purist form, and that should not change, but I don’t want to record it like that. There will be enough people who have the inclination and drive for this, not me though…
Maybe I’ll regret it, maybe I won’t, or more likely I’ll marvel at those who did record theses strange days, and like the rest of us I’ll say “do you remember when…”
All the pictures in this post were taken before what happened happened. they are of people, usually spending time alone, but alone through choice, which I hope I can see again real soon.
Man on steps
At the waterfront