For the previous two years, I’ve been residing a dream. I journey the world, take footage, and write about pictures. From the hustle and bustle of India to the tranquil vibes of the Riviera Maya, I’ve been doing what I really like and making a residing from it.
Then got here COVID-19, higher often known as the coronavirus.
I’m writing from my Airbnb in Medellin, Colombia which, as you would possibly guess, isn’t a everlasting residence. The metropolis is in whole lockdown. Mandatory quarantine has been enforced. Travelers are panicking, uncertain if they will get again to their dwelling nation. As issues stand, all worldwide flights are canceled till April 30, and it’s potential the federal government will prolong that date.
The entrance to my small studio condo the place I’m to spend my necessary quarantine.My house is in England. The British embassy is just not providing stable info, however has advised a chartered flight might be organized if there’s sufficient demand. If it occurs, it might price a number of thousand {dollars}.
This is the place I discover myself. Stuck in Colombia, 8,500 kilometers from dwelling, with no concept for a way lengthy. As a avenue photographer, I badly wish to doc this unprecedented occasion. Sadly, getting out to take footage is its personal problem.
Still, creativity thrives not in freedom, however constraint. Being caught inside isn’t supreme for somebody who lives out of a suitcase and by no means stays in a single place too lengthy, however it’s compelled me to rediscover the true essence of pictures, develop new expertise, and even flip an unlikely smartphone into an actual photographic device.
Even empty streets inform tales
Having traveled to a number of components of the world, I’ve turn out to be accustomed to the weird. Nothing, nonetheless, compares to the state of affairs I discover myself in now. As a part of necessary quarantine, one particular person from every family is allowed to depart the house for important actions, like shopping for groceries or taking the canine out. Police patrol the streets to implement these guidelines.
A neighborhood meals court docket in Medellin, which is normally full of individuals.Even if I’m simply strolling to the shop, which is allowed, a number of hurdles stand in the way in which of my photographic wishes. The police are skeptical of individuals taking pictures because it isn’t thought of a vital exercise. The incontrovertible fact that I look precisely like what I’m — a overseas traveler — doesn’t assist. The police might mistake me for overseas press or assume I intend malice.
Then there’s the problem of security. Rumors are already circulating that most of the metropolis’s prisoners are attempting to flee. It’s stated to be as a result of they, too, concern for his or her well being.
I’ve to depart my mirrorless digital camera on the Airbnb. It’s too conspicuous.

Beyond a possible jail break, there are rumors that petty crime has elevated. The metropolis is a ghost city. I solely must take one flawed flip throughout my stroll to the grocery store to seek out myself in a sketchy state of affairs.
All these elements result in one apparent conclusion. I’ve to depart my mirrorless digital camera on the Airbnb. It’s too conspicuous. Still, the will to {photograph} doesn’t go away. I must feed that keenness. If not for work, then for my psychological well being.
I’m taking footage with a Palm cellphone
Yes, you learn that proper.
The Palm is a 3.3-inch smartphone that encourages you to make use of it much less and reside life extra. (I’m conscious that most individuals within the tech sphere hate this cellphone, however I moderately take pleasure in it.) It doesn’t include the perfect digital camera, even amongst telephones. It’s actually a far cry from my Fujifilm X-T2.
But it has a digital camera. Right now, that’s all I would like.

Thanks to its measurement, the Palm is simple to make use of with out drawing consideration. I’ve additionally discovered myself turning my lens away from town and towards nature, looking for some magnificence to counter the darkness on the earth proper now. The tiny Palm is simple to take wherever I’m going.
Using my cellphone as my predominant digital camera has, in some methods, rejuvenated my ardour for the craft. It’s jogged my memory of the true which means behind good pictures. It’s not about megapixels and sensor measurement, however stable composition, intriguing topics, and the appropriate angles.
I’ve been a photographer for practically a decade, so I’m hardly new to the fundamentals. Yet the fixed barrage of technical innovation had influenced me greater than I spotted. The Palm cellphone has inspired me to concentrate on the core values of pictures, and that in itself is refreshing. I really like the problem of taking nice pictures with a poor digital camera.

I’ve additionally determined to make use of this time to develop myself. I’ve all the time been a nonetheless photographer and by no means pushed myself to discover the world of video. But when adversity strikes, it’s the perfect time to be taught new expertise to get by it.
I created a YouTube channel. It’s an area the place I can share my information of journey and creativity from the confines of my Airbnb. (And, no, I’m not capturing this on my cellphone.) At the very least, I hope it to be a platform that offers folks a small window of escapism throughout a time once they’re locked in. Sure, I’d like to monetize it in the future, however for now, its worth is in permitting me to proceed to be inventive after I’m trapped indoors.
I do know folks hit exhausting by this pandemic. In the blink of a watch, their companies have been crushed.

As an expert traveler, of kinds, I’ve realized the way to always adapt to new conditions. In some methods, that is no completely different. Being compelled to spend a lot time inside creates a possibility to ideate and experiment. There are many issues you are able to do from dwelling as a photographer. Re-edit previous pictures, hop on YouTube to be taught a brand new Photoshop ability, or take this time to lastly determine what TikTok is all about.
For photographers counting on the craft to make cash, it’s additionally likelihood to discover new avenues of earnings. Offer net tutorials, begin promoting prints, or look into inventory pictures. This won’t pay the payments immediately, however it would assist you to maintain your thoughts lively, and that’s extremely necessary proper now.
I’m one of many fortunate ones
I could be caught in South America, however in any other case, I’m very lucky.
As a journalist working remotely, I’m nonetheless in a position to do my job. Many photographers aren’t. I do know folks hit exhausting by this pandemic. Event photographers, journey photographers, even business studio photographers are unable to work proper now. In the blink of a watch, their companies have been crushed.
Being out of the country on a distinct continent, unable to benefit from the freedoms I as soon as might, is hard. I’ve grown accustomed to transferring round often, and I’m battling this compelled sedentary way of life.
I’m additionally conscious that, nonetheless uncomfortable, my state of affairs might be a lot worse. I’ve meals in my cabinets, a pleasant dwelling to remain in, and the vitality to push myself creatively. Ignoring the worldwide disaster for a second, that doesn’t sound so unhealthy.
I do not know after I’ll have the ability to freely roam the streets with my digital camera once more, however even being cooped up inside, hundreds of kilometers from my dwelling, I’m very conscious that I’m not alone. We’re all on this collectively. As photographers, as creatives, as folks. And if we will be taught to make use of this time to our benefit, finally we’ll emerge from this disaster stronger than we went in.
Until then, I’m grateful that I’ve a job the place I can proceed working, and for this unorthodox Palm cellphone that has turn out to be my most necessary inventive device.

Editors’ Recommendations