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I do not take as many photos as I used to, and I do not have a professional camera, so why take part in a photo competition – I wondered. Well, just to sharpen the lens of the eye, and see the same place from a different perspective – I thought in a few days later, and joined My 5K Perspectives project with my old iPhone.

As a part of the lockdown activities for Galway 2020 Wave Makers, a group of thirty different people – amateurs or professionals photographed various objects, situations, nature, and people. Our impressions, longings, daily rituals, and the reality of the Covid-19 restrictions in January and February 2021 are recorded in these photos. Today you can see them at the exhibition in Galway, Ireland.

Does spring wear sneakers?

This venture pushed me to leave the house at all. When I went for a walk to take pictures, my eyes of the careful observer became even more sensitive. And I felt the thrill of photography again. I was fascinated by the bicycle handle that was reflected in the puddle on the bench and the rusty piece of the gate in which I saw my own nostalgia.

One morning, through the window, I noticed three infrequent rays reflecting on the wall of the house opposite. I caught them in a photo, quickly, because in one minute they disappeared. Then I thought about how everything we experience in our life is fleeting. So it’s worth celebrating even the smallest moments.

When I was photographing Spring Sneakers, sitting on the bench, I leaned down and turned the lens for a selfie, then quite intuitively tried to capture my shoes and two purple snowdrops in the small phone screen. We all looked for spring. So, I imagined that she is a woman in sneakers who sat on a bench by the river Corrib.

Our Old Frame of Vision Determines our Perspectives

This old piece of the tractor is lying on a field on my way home, and every time I pass by it, I see that one side of the field is blocked. It gives me a gentle reminder that we also have some old beliefs that are no longer serving us. 

This picture shows the rusty frame and captures the view through the frame. The shape and size of the frame determine how the world would appear to us. Our belief, perspective in life, and nature are also heavily affected by what kind of frame we have created within ourselves. Maybe it is the time we need to ask ourselves whether our view of the world is also blocked by our rusty frame.

-so said Sita Karki.

Just reflecting

We had a few weeks to take the photos, and I remember the weather was not great. So, I wasn’t very motivated to go out in the cold and wet. However, I was planning to photograph birds. There is always something peaceful about birds gliding on the water.

Looking at the picture I took it is a mirror image reflection of a duck on the water. I turned it upside down while looking at it on the screen to look at both the real picture and the reflection. Then I thought the title could be a Just Reflecting over the last unusual year and the adjustments that people have had to make, the cutting off, but also finding other ways to keep connected with others. Perhaps learning new things.

I was lucky to have reach scenery to view within my 5k radius, which took in housing areas, roads, woods, beach, and lakes. I think people that really looked at their 5k zone would have been surprised at the area that the 5k covered, and many would take the time to observe their surroundings more. Hopefully, those that have come to notice more about their local area will continue to look more closely at the smaller things and just reflect.

-so said Bronagh Kenny – profesional photographer.

You can discover many different points of view and sensitivity at the exhibition. They are accompanied by silence, distance, sharp colours of restrictions, but also glimpses of the sun, beautiful nature, and a warm cuppa of tea.

Before we pressed the shutter button, we went through a workshop with experienced photographer Avi Ratnayake, who is also the curator of this exhibition. You can see the photos in Galway until June 27 in The Cornstore, opposite Charlie Byrne’s Book Shop. And for those who live outside of Galway and Ireland, I wrote this short report.

Did you also spot new things in a well-known neighborhood during the lockdown? Share your reflections in the comments.

Photos by Malgosia Doczyk, Sita Karki, Bronagh Kenny, and Bernie Ward. All Rights Reserved.