Lockdown Letters
Lockdown Diaries
From 2020, right at the beginning of the lockdown: stores were closed, streets were empty, masks were everywhere, and people were nowhere.
Now that we’ve seen how things were before the COVID-19 Pandemic and lockdown, it’s time I showed scenes taken from our daily lives, i.e. when I was not locked up in my room working hard.
Seldom was anyone seen in a group on the streets. There was a sense of loneliness everywhere.
Since we are locked in, I took my camera with me last Sunday and roamed around our block of flats in order to find things to take pictures of. Little did I know that there were so many things to see right in front of my eyes.
Starting with the front door. It had suddenly become a symbol of liberty. Unreachable.
I even noticed the flowerbed in the hall which reflected itself in the tiles of the ground floor and looked like a little oasis.
It’s funny, an oasis reflected on the tiles inside showing beauty where we are locked up… but locked up away from the once normal everyday life. The normal we once knew will never be the same.
But I had to come back to the front door again this little button on the left is very tempting. But mind you, who would want to press the door-opening button without putting gloves on? Needing to mask up every time you leave the house, and make sure you are 6 feet apart from others, needing to disinfect everything you touch. Worry is in the air everywhere.
Beauty in the Lockdown
The lockdown disrupted daily life, everything about it, and it was hard. But, there was a lot of beauty in the disruption. School stopped, work stopped, and daily life stopped. The natural beauty of earth shined through in this tough time. I found beauty in daily life and the little things. I took walks a lot, to escape reality and try to connect with nature.
The lockdown gave us a chance to discover our garden in the midst of the City. A bit of a luxury if you ask me. Yet, before the lockdown, we were so busy that we hardly ever went there at all. Last Sunday, as I was stretching my legs in our garden while lugging my camera and its 3-tonne macro lens, I came across these irises. Whoever said the lockdown was a pain? it’s a blessing, rather. Anyway, I’m locked down in my office all year round, not much of a difference for me (apart from my daily biking exercise of course, and that’s a serious downside).
This one looked a bit sad. 
My favorite.
Nearing the end of the lockdown, I was hoping there wouldn’t be too many cars out in the streets (wishful thinking that is, of course). I think when it was lifted everyone felt relief, the door finally opened and there was a sense of freedom.
Meanwhile, let’s make the most of these beautiful flowers taken in our garden. Before, and after the storm, weather storm that is, not COVID, although that makes sense too.
Down in the dirt. Fallen but still beautiful, glimmering through the storm.
More macro photography for you.
A bee in the 14th district.
The back garden had played a huge part when we decided to buy our flat 15 years ago. Then, we forgot about it and moved on to other things.
The lockdown changed everything, time was everything. As we couldn’t look any further than that we started to rediscover the garden and its flower beds.
Just looking out the window and seeing a bit of greenery was a huge relief. Now, I hope they don’t throw us back in jail, we’ve had enough of that, haven’t you? I am finding beauty everywhere, though still locked up.
A Closer yet Broader Look
I don’t know about you but here, but through this lockdown thing, our patience was wearing thin. My Mac keeps nagging me for not backing up for 50+ days to the time capsule which has remained in the office. I’ve read quite a few pages of “This Sceptered Isle”, complete with Winston Churchill’s comments, going all the way from Cassivellaunus to Charles I (Lord! I love this man’s shoes). That’s where I am at the moment. When I’m not reading (I won’t even mention the 15-hour working day tied at my desk), I cook some crepes and I take pictures of them with my macro lens.
This one looks very much like a planet seen from the International Space Station.
Looking at the crepes up close, you see just how many holes are, and how many indentations and pores there are. In a metaphorical sense, the effect that the lockdown had on us, created and brought out new sides of us. New indentations were formed, and a lot of people changed, mentally and physically.
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