A SEMBLANCE OF NORMALITY By Alun Foster
© Alun Foster
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hough we must all be highly vigilant still, to avoid what could possibly be an even worse “second wave”, the freedoms we enjoy in “normal” life are slowly starting to become available to most of us again. Depending on where you happen to live, the restrictions on our physical interactions with society have forced a significant re-evaluation of what is important (and what is not): some of these lessons are very well worth keeping (though I do fear – as I look around – that some are already being forgotten. Erare humanum est, but so too, it would seem, are rank stupidity and in some cases blatantly antisocial arrogance, but that’s another story). During the first phases of the “lock-down light” (as it has been in Belgium at least), we could happily witness great bursts of photographic creativity: bending the focus from the extra-ordinary things happening outside towards those things happening in more confined spaces – the “intra-ordinary” things (is that a word? If not, can it be? Pretty please?). I must admit that, for me, the inspirational potential of the inside of an apartment that I see every day, and even of a nice terrace, quickly evaporated (and, having to work from home did not free up as much play-time as one would hope: the pandemic response itself creating even more tasks to handle in my particular case, though I declare immediately that my lot is far more secure than the many who now may have spare time but also very stressful financial worries from all this). The lost enjoyment of creative activity, though, was happily replaced by the joy of seeing so many wonderful images posted on our Viewfinders
© Hélène Cook
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