New Year, New Blog, & a Confession
Like most of the country I’m in what our government are calling Tier 4, which means I should stay at home. There are exceptions of course. I can go to work
where your place of work remains open and where you cannot work from home
and for the day job I do just that, working from home some days and from the office on others. It’s in a hospital. But what about my second life as a photographer, and in particular a landscape photographer? Are we locked down, furloughed, or excused the rules? And in a post Dominic Cummings world, are those rules just for the less privileged among us?
Whatever the answer, at 4.30am on New Years Day I drove 100 miles across country to take photographs. My intention to be totally remote was thwarted by the weather when the icy roads prevented my assault on Newlands Hause and a careful spell of reversing in total darkness ensued until I could find a safe spot to turn around. Half an hour later and I was overlooking one of the most popular destinations in the Lake District. An unacceptable risk?
For a number of reasons I felt not. I travelled alone. I met no one on my travels (unless you count a shouted greeting to someone in a car park 50m away). I’m one of the few who has been vaccinated (perk of the day job). I took my pictures, got back into my car, and left.
Today I read of others who got stranded on one of England’s higher passes being lambasted by police for getting stuck and without appropriate clothing, and I felt a pang of guilt. I doubt that the 200 plus cars who drove to the top of Snake Pass were working photographers, or even hikers as they were referred to in news reports but was my justification any stronger?
I exercised my mind and body (allowed under the rules) but I could/should have done that at home, but the landscape work is a little harder. Unless you live in the landscape.
Far from the Madding Crowd