Suggestions

If you have a photo book library, now may be the time to read through it, or investigate new photo books to acquire. For online collections, you might want to check your bookmarks to see if they're still active, and to bookmark new photographers, collections or sites that interest you.

Some institutions have recently put large new historical collections online. Can't remember which ones at the moment, but that might be interesting to check out.
 
This is my list. Never run out of stuff.

Done or doing most of the items on your list ;-)

Plus trying to get enough exercise and growing my hair...

last haircut was pre-lockdown (7-Feb) and I am committed to get
my next trim after the all clear... seven months into the challenge
and guessing that the first year will be the most challenging.
 
I only have a very vague recollection of how my my grand- and great grand parents lived. Most existing pictures are taken on vacations or celebrations and says nothing about what was in their refrigerator, cupboards, book or record collection. What did their wrist watch, cutlery, key chain, dishwashing soap look like?
If you have grand children, this kind of photos will be of value to them and future generations.
If you don't have children, you can do it anyway as support for insurance claims.
 
I suppose as per the above mentioned activities:
- taking photos in and around the house -I created an RFF thread on this topic a few months ago;
- taking urban landscape photos.

Vietnam did not have any community transmissions during the past two weeks, and if that trend continues, I'll venture out in the alleyways with my recently repaired Zeiss Biogon 2.8/28.

Cheers, OtL
 
I recently bought a new-to-me film scanner and have been focusing on using it. Digging back through some of my older negatives and transparencies has proven to be enjoyable.
 
"...taking photos in and around the house -I created an RFF thread on this topic a few months ago."

And a fine thread it is, OtL.
It gives those interested a potentially fruitful indoor project to work on and provides a bit of human connection with fellow RFFers.
 
I'm putting together a new slide show from thousands of extra slides in my files. And soon I will start printing a number of negatives I've never printed. Tomorrow I start replacing my homemade projection screen with a commercially built one. Should have it in place by the end of the weekend. I could do some dry mounting and framing. Maybe sell a few things I don't use.

In other words, I'm doing something with the pictures I've already taken.
 
I am finding this a good time to step back and assess if life has become so centered around photography to the diminishment of other aspects that we have become one trick ponies. Are we repeatedly photographing the same dog or reassessing old portfolios because we can find nothing else to our lives?

I am spending time reestablishing communication, mostly by phone, with old friends. I am reading fiction. I am watching movies. I am researching and studying topics of interest, one of which may develop into a photo series. Many months ago I did final editing and wrapped up two photo series. I have photographed one small three day photos story in the last 4-5 months. No photos other than that. But I have kept myself productively busy. It feels good to do something different.
 
Just because there are few people out and about and we have to maintain social distancing protocols doesn't stop me. Aside from the Week In Hell fires of the 10-day recently past, and my own Weeks of Hell due to shoulder surgery and hernia surgery, I've been out on the bicycle nearly every day for 15 to 20 miles carrying my camera and photographing what captures my interest.

My photography is always more abstractive and art oriented than documentarian, so I manage to find things that satisfy me no matter what the situations and conditions might be.

This one caught my eye yesterday and I had the Light L16 with me. A nice opportunity for a little abstract play with form, light, and texture:


Conduit and Wall - San Jose 2020
Light L16
ISO 100 @ f/15.4 @ 1/360 @ 28mm

Enjoy,
G
 
I am minimizing my risk of infection as much as possible. This mainly involves avoiding public places. I use a U-Mask which has anti-proliferative and self-sanitizing layers. This mask is used by several Formula 1 racing teams.

So, I am not making any new photographs.

All my creative activities involve production of Series

I am going to rejuvenate my personal web site.

I am organizing a large amount of photos made by family members. These photos exist in numerous back ups of my and my wife's older computers. The goal is to make some photo books for my 5 grand children.

I have several series projects that are close to completion but remain unfinished. Some of these are photographs from 1970-1972 when I began making documentary photographs. I plan to display these on a new web site.

I am working on a brand new project that is comparable with my current catalog of personal images.
 
Not taking any photos, is what I'm doing. Once a week I head out to a local cemetery with my partner where we volunteer as gardeners. Lately I haven't been even taking a camera, instead just enjoying the little bit of cultivated nature we have access to.
Today I just finished an appprenticeship class to become a typewriter repairman, so that is something I've got going. Other than those things, I'm getting ready to begin my first practice post graduate school as a mental health therapist. Trying not to become depressed myself by staying engrossed in typewriter and camera repair, is what I've been leaning on since March.
Phil Forrest
 
This has been an odd year in more ways than one, of course, but I seem to be even more focused on photography than ever. My ‘work’ photography has actually been pretty good this year, despite everything, and just when I think things might be slowing down I’ll get another call for a job. So not too many complaints there, all things considered.

Personal work-wise, I haven’t been able to get out West this year, but come January I’ll be spending a month in New Mexico in an artist in residence program. I’ll be interested to see how that all shakes out, given the current situation. And my film photography has gotten a huge jump start this year - never thought I’d ever get back into it, but it’s been going great and seems to keep growing. Mostly day trips here and there, and I’m working on a little stereo image project photographing Civil War battlefields, most notably Gettysburg (which is only about an hour from me). Pretty easy to social distance there. We’re heading into the kind of weather I like (cloudy, gloomy), and I think that works well with that particular subject matter.

So all in all this year has been a challenge, like it’s been for everyone, but it’s also caused me to approach things differently yet still trying to learn new things and keep moving forward.
 
I picked up a Holga when the lockdown started and began wandering about, mostly by bike, shooting whatever. Pretty much everything looks good to me through this $39 plastic wonder.

50359429057_dc5d2e997a_z.jpg
 
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