Skip to main content

Niamh's COVID-19 Photo Essay

Life of a Nature Lover in Lockdown

Chronicles of Covid 19 - An event that has affected us all, but yet in a separate and unique way. A pandemic that managed to change everyone’s lives and the way
that we had lived our lives, was all taken away in a moment. The pace went from an incredible speed to a complete halt. The hustle and bustle of the cities instantly became a hollow concrete space. While I could upload pictures of how ‘Covid-19’ has affected us as a whole, and flood your screen with yellow warning signs, I have decided to take a more personal approach, in the hopes of inspiring people, to look around and see that there is still so much beauty in this world and that we still have access to it, The best part is that you don’t have to view it from behind a device screen. I hope that my Chronicles of Covid-19 strives as a reminder to people that you can still lead a life of love and living for yourself through these tough times.
 

March 2020 - Heart on the Window
In this photo, lies a sense of naiveness because quite frankly nobody knew what was ahead of us. It felt selfish to say it, but I was secretly feeling relieved for the
world to take a break amongst all the madness, and to be allowed to slow down and be still, beside the sea of course. This photo represents a quiet sunrise morning, where you can hear the wind blowing from the wind and you feel safe and warm in your bed no matter what is happening in the world at the moment in time. ‘Two weeks’ they say, ‘two weeks to flatten the curve’, little did we know what was going to happen in the next few months. The feeling of uncertainty
arrives.
 

April 2020 - The month of the internet.

The month of the memes, online gigs, chain Whatsapp messages, and silly videos took over the internet as the whole world was sitting at home for this month and the internet was the only form of connection that we had. It was all so strange, unsettling for everyone to hibernate quietly in our homes, that we took to our device screens to look for safety, security and comfort. I found this image to be quite apt and suitable for this time. City streets were deserted and there were talks that pigeons were at risk of starvation due to the fact that there weren’t people out and about, therefore, no leftovers or scraps for the birds. An interesting symbiotic relationship that not many would even consider but it is the reality of this fast-paced and fast-changing society we are in. Rapidly evolving at a rate that can’t even be measured by speed.

May 2020 = Fruits of Labour
After experimenting with several different crafts at home and after making a few batches of the notorious ‘Banana Bread’, I decided to take it a step further, I started to grow some vegetables and herbs on my roof. After all, if this is the zombie apocalypse like it has been described, it's time to start being self-sufficient. It felt extremely satisfying and rewarding to be doing physical work outside, quite literally getting my hands dirty. I felt some pity towards my housemates as they had to bear listening to my singing to the plants each morning in the hopes that they would flourish into thriving plants.

June 2020 - Summer Solstice
Fire was the element of the summer. I remember this evening clearly, I had the mundane effects of the repetitiveness of life that had been getting me down. Anything, anything that was different from the normal routine would have lifted my spirits. I had had my fair share of ‘Netflix’ binges and was developing cabin fever. To make an effort, to simply light a fire, sit in nature, and turn off all devices, seemed like the best thing to do at that moment in time.

July 2020 - If you go out to the Woods today
Gathering around the fire became a great means as a form of connection during the summer - socially distanced, of course. With all events, venues, gigs and normal summer festivities put on hold, nature became the forefront for me. At this point in time, restrictions were lifting and people were allowed to move freely through their counties & countries.

August 2020 - One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
Once you hop on the self-sufficient train, it’s hard to hop off. Finding new ways of living with all this bewilderment in this past few months, I think it became very important to be able to find a muse to strive, focus and give hope for the future, otherwise, it's extremely easy to lose sight of what's real and important in life. So in August, we continued to keep our TV’s and Radios off and began focusing on what does matter, what’s in front of you at that moment in time. Myself & my partner decided to give an old friends camper-van some TLC that it had deserved.

September 2020 - Reap what you sow.
September came along before I knew it and harvest season was upon us. I was finally able to see the rewards of the time and energy I put into my Summer Project. I learnt a lot from growing a few vegetables. The lesson of how when you give something the time, energy and space to grow, a seed so small, can grow into something so beautiful when it has just the right conditions. I think a lesson that is all very valuable for us at this time of uncertainty.

October 2020 - Coffee can make everything better

After spending a summer surrounding myself in as much nature as possible, after having being kept in during the lockdown, my body had started to naturally sync up with the sunrise each morning, I was actually motivated to get out of bed in the morning, knowing I was waking up to a spectacular view. The seasons were changing, but as we began to say Goodbye to the Sun, there was still a strong
sense of uncertainty and unknown ahead. A new start & fresh beginning in a new place, I still somehow managed to remain optimistic even with all the other happenings in the world.

So I present to you, my chronicles of Covid-19. As I had said in my introduction, I didn’t want to take the approach of showing how the world has been impacted due to this pandemic, with the typical ‘social distancing’ signs and pictures of people with face masks. I am sure we are all aware of these things by now, so instead, I have shown how my life has been affected & impacted but also how I choose to rise above the situation and to keep striving on no matter what is happening in the world at this moment. Even though we are being restricted to certain places and certain things but do not forget that nature is a constant throughout this pandemic. You can still go to nature, and use your bodily senses of smell, sight, touch, taste and hear, for this is what it means to be a human being.