How are the people I photographed during the first lockdown doing now, one year later?
Nederlandse versie hier.
The Netherlands went into lockdown in March 2020. As an event and portrait photographer, this meant I could clear my schedule and take care of the kids at home. This also meant no income for the time being, and on top of it all this lockdown caused a small identity crisis: am I still a photographer if I cannot make photos?
Luckily we were still allowed to go out, so the kids and I went dancing in my elderly neighbour’s garden to cheer her up from time to time (video here). I saw here standing behind her window and that’s when I got the idea to photograph the people in my hometown for #SafeBehindGlass.
During the 56-day lockdown, I photographed one person or household per day, resulting in 56 portraits. In July 2020, the project was exhibited in the beautiful Dominicanen Bookstore in Maastricht.
As we are commemorating the first anniversary of this particular moment in our lives, I went back to 10 families and individuals. I asked them how they look back on that lockdown and how they are doing today.
For readability, answers have been edited with the participant’s approval.
Rob, Olivia and children
How did you experience the first lockdown?
Rob: “I didn’t mind it so much. It was kind of a nice period; cocooning with the family. Normally, with all their school and extra-curricular activities, our three children are not often home at the same time. It also makes a difference that our work just continued and that the weather was fine.”
Olivia: “At the time I found the situation quite nice and it was convenient that I have a studio / atelier at home.”
How are you doing now?
Rob: “We should not exaggerate how much it bothers us, because work still continues and the family is doing well, but I have to say I have had enough with some of the measures. The motivation to collectively collaborate is slowly diminishing.”
Olivia: “You experience so few new things. Everything seems to have become one big blur, without a sense of time. Also, it has become difficult to escape for a while and there is little to no alone-time left. Not even in my studio at home. I have to re-evaluate how much I like having that now. At the same time, the current situation often makes us realise how grateful we should be for how good things are for us. We really don’t have much to complain about.”
Trudi Das Gupta (neighbour)
How did you experience the first lockdown?
Trudi: “When the lockdown started in the Netherlands, I was already in quarantine. I had just returned from Switzerland and the GP and GGD (Municipal Health Services) told me to stay at home because I had the flu. At that time I wasn’t tested and don’t think it was corona, but I’ll never know for sure. I actually didn’t think that first lockdown was that hard. This is due to the beautiful weather, my garden and the collective idea that corona would be over as soon as it had come.”
How are you now?
Trudi: “I am anxiously awaiting my vaccination. Every week I hear that it is almost my turn. I’m confident it will not take very long. I am mentally fine, but I do look forward to things getting back to normal. I miss having physical contact with dear friends and family. Fortunately I can live on a lot of memories myself, but I feel sorry for the children and young people who do not experience nice things.”
Lonneke, Joep and Lodewijk
How did you experience the first lockdown?
Lonneke: “My father got corona and was in the ICU for 19 days in March last year. The estimated survival rate at that time was 1 in 2 so they told us to say goodbye to him. He was admitted to the Zuyderland hospital in Heerlen (a local hospital) and was then quickly transferred to Groningen (350km North). Contact was via Skype only so in that respect that great distance did not matter much. At the same time my mother was in quarantine and she was also very afraid of getting infected. My father has now recovered, is feeling well, walks a lot but will continue to suffer from the damage caused during the illness.”
How are you doing now?
Lonneke: “On the one hand it is nice that you can spend so much time together, but on the other hand it is all so uninspiring. Everything is always the same.”
Joep: “There are so few unexpected or new things. When daycare closed, we noticed how much our two-year-old son needed to see other people. He sometimes stood here in the evenings with his coat on asking if we could go to meet other children. Work and private life are also intertwined, so that you always feel in between both: when I’m working from home, I’m are not really home because I’m working. And when I have time off from work, I also feel only half present.”
Irmelin Hanssen and Sedrik Lonwijk
How did you experience the first lockdown?
Irmelin: “It seems so very long ago. I especially remember that we were quite scared. Fearful of the unknown.”
Sedrik: “Fear. I was then convinced that if you got infected, the chance that it would be the end was very high. I washed my hands with alcohol several times every day. And when I ‘had to’ work on site remember asking very explicitly to be allowed to work in a closed attic. All by myself.”
How are you doing now?
Sedrik: “We remain cautious and still adhere to all measures, but the nature of our fear has changed a bit.”
Irmelin: “Until a year ago we would often go to Amsterdam or Rotterdam and every year I also made a few trips abroad. But because that was no longer possible, we started discovering our own province, and found peace and serenity here. Now we have bought a house near Maastricht. That would not have happened so quickly without this corona crisis.”
Farah Wilbers, Guus van Engelshoven and Nora
How did you experience the first lockdown?
Farah: “At first, everything was new: we started working from home and Nora was being homeschooled. Working from home was fun in the beginning, but it was also difficult because of little inconveniences like a server that pops out every once in a while and a printer that only works occasionally.”
How are you doing now?
Farah: “As you can see, Guus was not there yet in the previous photo. We have only been living together for a few months and will be moving soon. That of course keeps us very busy. But I also want to see colleagues again. In real life. And I look forward to being able to go doo things again: grab a bite on a terrace, go on a city trip or visit a museum. And preferably without having to book time slots for everything.”
Guus: “What I really miss is the spontaneous social interaction. Everything is now planned and time bound. Also because of the curfew, which means that even dinner with a friend can never be completely relaxed. You feel that pressure all the time. I would like to go into town on spec and meet people by chance again.”
Hameleers-Lungu Family
How did you experience the first lockdown?
Diana: “Kiki was born shortly before the lockdown and my mother flew here on the last flight from Moldova. So in three weeks time we went from a family of three to five. My mother ended up staying for three months. That was nice, but also a big change for all of us.”
Niels: “The presence of my mother-in-law helped us a lot, but that also meant that I couldn’t see my own mother – who lives here in the city too. We were mainly looking for a way to get through this period together. Working from home was the norm, but having a newborn child and a two-year-old in the house also meant that I sometimes had to set up my office in three different places in one day.”
How are you doing now?
Diana: “I miss my family very much. No one except my mother has seen Kiki. We can have video calls, but that is no substitute for real contact. And then there is a language barrier (family speak Romanian, children Dutch) that is much less problematic with normal contact.”
Niels: “This year has taken its toll both physically and mentally. I am quite tired to be honset. It doesn’t help that we don’t know if and when this will end. We stick to our bubble quite tightly because it contains vulnerable people. That feels safe, but it also means that we don’t see and meet many other people.”
Frits Nijenhuis and Mario Sanna
How did you experience the first lockdown?
Mario: “Sometimes it seemed like I was dreaming, having to pinch myself to feel if it was real… By staying disciplined, we stuck to our rhythm of getting up, self-care and work. In addition, it suddenly became an unprecedented busy period for me at the municipality I work for; in a crisis like this, the security region takes over control. As a result it felt a bit like a “mobilization” at times.”
Frits: “The combination of the place where we live – fifth floor with a very nice view – and the beautiful spring weather meant that we actually did not have that much nuisance from the whole situation. All in all, I must say we have never felt unsafe.”
How are you doing now?
Mario: “We feel just like the cows who feel that spring is coming and are eager to go into the pasture.”
Frits: “What predominates in my mind is that this is going to be okay. We have to stay focussed and hang on for a while. But it will be fine and hopefully we will learn something from this very bizarre period.”
Leidsman Family
Leidsman How did you experience the first lockdown?
Rachelle: “I thought it was a soothing time. Suddenly, we had a lot of time for our family and for each other. There was a kind of climate of fear and there was a lot of uncertainty about the virus. But I found peace in that because we were all in it together. I looked at the world that came to a complete standstill and nature that recovered itself with admiration.”
Tunde: “That peace of mind gave us the opportunity to think carefully about our own objectives. Both privately and in the field of work and sports.”
How are you doing now?
Rachelle: “Looking back, I felt more serenity that first period than now. We feel that the togetherness and empathy from the beginning has faded away somewhat. It seems to me that we therefore argue in favor of listening to each other again and understanding the choices that everyone makes. We are also concerned about the impact on children. Not just ours, but all children.”
Tunde: “We are now a year later and still no one who knows where this is going. But we try to be positive and keep up the good spirits. As human beings and entrepreneurs, I believe we succeed quite well in constantly adapting to changing information and guidelines that are imposed on us.”
Peter Frederik
How did you experience the first lockdown?
Peter: “The first lockdown was a shock. During that period my GP went into intensive care. After weeks of nursing, he passed away from the effects of corona. On a radiant June day we said our goodbyes outside. His death and the funeral in which we lined up in long lines for a final tribute made a deep impression on me. Apart from that I remember it being the nicest / hottest summer since 1976 – when I started studying in Maastricht – all in all I was able to endure that summer quite happily.”
How are you now?
Peter: “As a scientist I follow the situation closely (Peter invented the” Vitrobot “, an electron microscope with which the corona spine came into view, ed.). But from September, when it turned out that the pandemic was not over at all, I found it more difficult. I like informal gatherings and spontaneous meetings. Every meeting now has to be planned in advance. I miss the irregular and the spontaneous.”
Stark family
How did you experience the first lockdown?
Lindsay: “I followed the news closely, kept track of the contamination numbers and visited the online corona dashboard daily. We also realized that it was a unique moment in our lives. We looked at how we would spend that time together as a family in a positive way.”
Richard: “It was new and unusual. And as a freelance photographer I was unsure of what was to come. But also of what would be held off. I was mentally ready to stay at home and spend time together as a family for a long period. My worries were mainly for the people around me, people who are dear to me.”
How are you doing now?
Lindsay: “After a year of limitations and denials, I notice that I am no longer always the best version of myself. We also want to allow our children those ‘outside’ impulses and more contacts, but as long as that is not allowed, it helps to put things into perspective. When you hear that someone close to you has suddenly fallen away due to corona, you immediately have both feet back on the ground.”
Richard: “I am tired of being tired and done with all the complaining. It was quite an adjustment as a family with young children when the schools and daycare closed. Now that the relaxations have arrived and there is more air, I can focus on my work again. The year was a crash course in being inventive; as a father and as a self-employed person. All this with a few extra wrinkles.”
