hello friend

Are you ok? I hope you’re ok. This is a tough time and I fear it’s just getting going. So take measures now to make sure you’re going to be ok. By that I mean panic buy chocs, wine, beer and video games.

There are some great photos of tidal pools by photographer Tessa Bunney on her site if you need a break from the world for a few minutes.

I’m nearly at the end of week 2 of self isolation, or I guess just industry standard isolation now everyone is doing it. I’m still documenting it with my camera. Every day. I plan to get my thoughts together and make it a project anyone can take up. For now though you can follow it my Instagram. I’ve also submitted the work to the Public Source project.

I started Twitch streaming this week. First with Euro Truck Simulator 2 as an attempt to talk about photography and have some silly fun. No-one really watched. So I switched to talking about my actual photos and I’ve had some nice conversations. So that’s good.

mental health

As someone with social anxiety issues, someone totally fine with spending a week at home and not leaving the house I find it hard to connect with the reality of modern life in Covid-19 times. I saw a post on Facebook by a friend who got me thinking about how everyone is experiencing life like someone with social anxiety.

“My desire to be ‘normal’ was never predicated on the idea of my batshit view of world BECOMING normal. “

I’m jealous that people can look forward to a time when it’s over for them. I’ll keep social distancing. Self isolating. On the plus side it may make these issues more relatable now. When this is all over I’ll be able to say “Remember how you felt during Covid-19? That’s just every day for me.” Maybe the idea of fearing the invisible and abstract is something people can understand now. So there’s that.

There are some tips for managing anxiety at this time by Claire Eastham. Give her a follow on Twitter too.

photos

I’m going through old photos looking for anything nice to post on Instagram. I feel like my feed has become this bleak reflection of my mood these past few weeks. While it’s important to document it is also important to offer people a break from all this now and then. So for you, newsletter subscribers, here are some photos of Paris.

beam out

• Friday essay: the uncanny melancholy of empty photographs in the time of coronavirus
• The Great Empty – The New York Times
• Virtual Travel Photography in the Age of Pandemic
• Coronavirus in Italy: Scenes From the Eye of the Storm | Vanity Fair
• The Visual Landscape of a World Shaped by Pandemic – The Atlantic