PRO COLUMN
Lockdown diaries from Rob Cottle; the nature photographer on staying mindful in isolation
As I look out from behind my computer screen, I can see scattered houses, farm buildings, goldfinches eating sunflower seeds on the feeders, a couple of Shetland ponies nibbling at grass, and a few horses gamboling in a field. No, not gambling (animals aren’t stupid enough to do that), but gambol as in prance and run playfully. There’s also Pidge (above), a very tame pigeon that shouts at us to feed it (no, really). This shot was taken through the kitchen double glazing, which not only shows that you can capture very interesting images right outside your home, but also how amazing a pigeon looks if you really see it.
I could be mistaken into thinking everything is normal, but nothing could be further from the truth. As I write, it’s the first day of lockdown in the UK and yet the skies are blue, and that yellow orb we haven’t seen for months has got its hat on – basically, it’s a lovely day. Looks certainly do deceive, which is perhaps the reason all of this wasn’t taken seriously sooner.
Now, I work from home a lot and I’m sort of always selfisolating, so this situation isn’t that unusual to me. However, I feel like I should be doing some of the things I’ve been putting off. My philosophy – and I’m no doctor – is that when all this strangeness is finally over, why not be in a better place than when you started?
We can really make use of this time, and it will be far easier to control what happens on the other side if we do. Fear will freeze the best of us into staring at our TV or social media feed, but that won’t do any good in the long term.
Isolation is not easy, but – and putting photography aside for a minute – you can do so much around your home, garden
or even window box. If you are lucky enough to be able to observe nature from your window, really look at it, lose yourself in its wonderment, watch its life unfold before you and then use your observations to your advantage when you get back out there photographing it. There’s a lovely book I’d
recommend called The Art Of Mindful Birdwatching: Reflections
On Freedom & Being by Claire Thompson, which seems like the perfect antidote for these strange times.
My philosophy is that when all this is strangeness is over, why not be in a better place than when you started? Use the time to be (cheesy alert) ‘the better you’. Be kind, help those you can, use social media to join up with people and be sensible and safe.