2020 - 2021: Pandemic, Lockdowns and More

Even in December 2020, Melbourne was still deep in social distancing. This was taken at Collins Place, a normally busy building in the City which houses a cinema, a hotel, a number of shops and cafes, and corporate offices. At this time, we were only allowed to gather in pairs, and to remain at least 1.5 metres apart from others.

RX0 - Two by two by Archiver, on Flickr

Sony RX0 | Lightroom | Collins Place, Melbourne
 
Oh what a great nostalgic thread here....
Went through lots of photos from the first months.
My daughters were still young... 5 and 8, and they're totally different right now 5 years later.

There was some hype to let your beard grow (very ugly)... "the coronabeard challenge" or something 😀
Only after a couple of months it became very wild.
Then later, I went to a barber shop, a professional cut it very stylish like I was a hipster 😀
Oh well, it was not who I was (or who I am now), it didn't last long before I shaved it all, but it was a very nice memory.
 

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bulevardi said:
Oh what a great nostalgic thread here....
Went through lots of photos from the first months.
My daughters were still young... 5 and 8, and they're totally different right now 5 years later.

There was some hype to let your beard grow (very ugly)... "the coronabeard challenge" or something 😀
Only after a couple of months it became very wild.
Then later, I went to a barber shop, a professional cut it very stylish like I was a hipster 😀
Oh well, it was not who I was (or who I am now), it didn't last long before I shaved it all, but it was a very nice memory.
Click to expand...
Twice during 2020 and 2021, my hair became ridiculously long due to hair salons being forced to close. Someone offered to give me the contact of a barber he knew who would do a sneaky home job, but I declined as I wanted to stay loyal to my own hairdresser. 😄 By the time she was able to reopen, I was increasingly tempted to just cut my own hair. Fortunately, there are upsides to procrastination. 😆
 
I mentioned in an earlier post that during lockdown, some people put teddy bears and other toys in their front windows, so that kids walking with their families for exercise would have something to see. I'd forgotten that I have a few images of such things!

This house created gorgeous Christmas and Halloween displays each year, so seeing this big fellow, and his friend in the window, was no surprise.

RX0 - Indoor and Outdoor Bears by Archiver, on Flickr

Sony RX0 | Lightroom

At another house, two bears sat outside at a window with a pink dragon sticker.

RX0 - Bears to see, things to do by Archiver, on Flickr

Sony RX0 | Lightroom
 
Archiver said:
I mentioned in an earlier post that during lockdown, some people put teddy bears and other toys in their front windows, so that kids walking with their families for exercise would have something to see. I'd forgotten that I have a few images of such things!
Click to expand...
Hàh nice!
Here in Belgium they did this aswel. Bear walks...
It seems they were doing that on the other side of the planet too.
And from the moment you could leave the house again, suddenly everyone seemed to go on walking, I've never seen so much people outside walking around (with social distancing).
Right now, nobody walks anymore.
 
The local mall was even more dead than usual. I'd gone there to get a haircut, offered by appointment only.

Canon PowerShot S90.

Empty World by Bryan Costin, on Flickr

These two were taken on Easter 2020.

A playground in the middle of a park had these dinosaur rides festooned with several yards of caution tape.

Leica M8, 7Artisans 50mm/f1.1

Velociraptors In Bondage by Bryan Costin, on Flickr

And a lone fisherman at the same park, enjoying the pretty day.

Leica M8, 7Artisans 50mm/f1.1
Fishing On A Lonely Easter by Bryan Costin, on Flickr
 
Archiver said:
I mentioned in an earlier post that during lockdown, some people put teddy bears and other toys in their front windows, so that kids walking with their families for exercise would have something to see. I'd forgotten that I have a few images of such things!
Click to expand...

That's cool! Kids here cut out colorful paper hearts and flowers for their front windows, with the same idea.
 
The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns brought a rise in aggression towards others, particularly shop staff who were just doing their jobs. Signs in shopping malls reminded patrons that violence and aggression were not tolerated. The benches below had more signage which said to maintain social distancing.

RX0 - Crisis Out There by Archiver, on Flickr

Sony RX0 | June 2020 | Summerhill Shopping Centre, Reservoir
 
Dining at restaurants was forbidden for much of 2020 in Melbourne, McDonald's included. Here we see chairs removed and yellow tapes circling tables to ensure that no one sits to eat.

RX0 - No Sitting by Archiver, on Flickr

Sony RX0 | McDonald's Preston | July 2020

There was once scene where I wish I got a photo: in the early days of the pandemic, the government told us that we were not to eat inside restaurants, but this didn't stop some intrepid people being creative. Two people had bought McDonalds and had opened the boot of their station wagon, and had set up folding chairs behind their car. This was in the early days, because in later months, police were fining people for eating pizza in their cars far from home.

Edited to add: I just found that I did take photos of the guys sitting in folding chairs behind their station wagon, but they aren't particularly good photos. Thinking about whether to post them.
 
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LX10 - Regent Closed by Archiver, on Flickr

Panasonic LX10 | Regent Theatre, Melbourne, March 2020

The Regent Theatre was one of many theatres and other venues forced to close in the first lockdown of Melbourne. At this point, we were told to stay at home, but the greater restrictions were about to come into play. Optimistically, the Regent Theatre said that tickets for future events would continue to be sold.

RX0 - Pick Up Here by Archiver, on Flickr

Sony RX0 | Summerhill Shopping Centre, Reservoir, April 2020

Who remembers the restaurants that served takeaway from their front doors? In this Chinese restaurant, tables were placed at the front to create a temporary counter, and to prevent customers from coming further into the restaurant.

RX0 - Rococo St Kilda by Archiver, on Flickr

Sony RX0 | Rococo Italian restaurant, St Kilda, April 2020

Another restaurant serving takeaway in a deserted street, early lockdown days of 2020. Acland Street in St Kilda is usually bustling with people, but this shows just how empty the lockdown made things. The illuminated sign reads, 'No one is lonely while eating spaghetti'.
 
In the early part of shelter-in-place, they discouraged travel. Once local restrictions for car travel were relaxed, I took my son out into the backcountry. No crowds, of course, and we could breathe some fresh mountain air. We set up for one night near the trailhead before heading out to a nearby lake.



Checking the trail map. Are we there yet?


A refreshing dip in the lake after we found our campsite for the night.
 
The forum software only allows three photos per post, so here is Part 2!

We set up camp, made dinner, and played some Go Fish.


After dinner, we sat by the lake and took some photos while waiting for the sun to go down.


I stayed up a little later to take a star trail photo. It was mid-summer, so I had to wait until almost 10pm before the sky got suitably dark, but all in all, not a bad way to spend an evening.
 
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