Officially, the coronavirus lockdown in England began on the evening of 23rd March, although the office that I work at locked its doors one week prior to that. I’m still working full-time from the comfort of my living room and what’s been a very welcome by-product of working from home, has been that I’ve gained a good three hours every day, all to myself, which would otherwise have been spent commuting on a packed train with my face pressed into a stranger’s armpit (yes… bleurgh), while some malodorous ne’er-do-well went at it with the guard over a fare-dodging incident or some such malarkey. I can’t begin to describe how much I haven’t missed that! And three extra hours to myself every day is a big, fat deal!
Out of habit, I still naturally wake up dead early. So on 25th March, the second morning after lockdown, having all this extra time on my hands I decided to take a stroll upriver along the western bank of the Severn. It was a gloriously sunny morning and I could take my sweet time as I had a couple of hours before I was due to start work. I took a few of snaps of the river with my iPhone along the way, and posted one on social media when I got home. The following morning, waking at about the same time, I decided to take another stroll. This time, I spotted a very handsome-looking cormorant perched right at the top of an old dead, sun-bleached alder. Again, I only had my iPhone with me, so I took a quick shot. It was a terrible photo there are no two ways about it, but I resolved to do the same walk at the same time the next morning, to see if the cormorant was still there, but this time I took my DSLR with me, in the hope that if my feathered friend did put in another appearance, I might get a better shot.
I was in luck. Another sunny day and the cormorant was perched in the same spot, staring out over the river like a sentry. Naturally I took a photo and thus began my daily river walk routine that has endured every morning since. Each morning I’m up at 5.30 and out by 6.00, armed with my DSLR and a couple of lenses, hoping that I’ll happen upon something worth photographing, whether that’s flora, fauna or just a nice, scenic shot of the Severn
I completed my 100th river walk this week, and I’ve posted a photo every day on Instagram and Facebook. Of course, the quality of the photos varies greatly, depending on the conditions, and some mornings I’ve really struggled to find something worthy of sharing. In hindsight, I should have been more selective about what I posted, perhaps only sharing something once a week maybe. But it all just happened rather organically I suppose, so it is what it is. I have taken shots that I’ve been pretty pleased with, which I’ve included with this post.
I intend to continue the walks for the time being, for as long as I feel inclined at least. It’s not just about the photos though… in fact I think the photos are kind of incidental, it’s about getting out there in the great outdoors. At that time of the morning, there’s no one around, it’s peaceful and invigorating and… well gosh darn it, it’s good for the soul. That sounds really corny, but do you know what? I don’t care, it’s true.