Are you familiar with the BBC’s Last Normal Photo trend? The Beeb has been encouraging people to post the last photo taken on their phone before lockdown. I’ve bent the rules ever so slightly for this photo of as it was taken on my DSLR, but it was certainly the last time I took my camera out to get photos before the country was closed down.
The picture was taken from an outside deck of the National Theatre on Thursday, 5 March, 2020. I had been attending an event organised by Diageo focused on gender equality in the business world.
It’s odd to think back to March. Although it would be another two weeks until the UK was closed down, it was a febrile time. I fully expected the lockdown to happen and thought it was a case of when, not if, the schools would close. I knew this would probably be my final chance to do some photography in an urban environment for some considerable time. Needless to say I haven’t visited Central London since.
I took a lot of images that night. I am going to publish some of the others in future weeks, this just happens to be one that I’ve had the time to edit. The tallest building just to the right is St Paul’s Cathedral and at the bottom of the picture, through the trees, is the River Thames. It was taken on a 30 second exposure.
I like the picture for its significance. I find it very odd to think how different life was just a couple of months ago. The event I was at certainly couldn’t have taken place with everyone sat next to each other, not to mention the fact one of the speakers was pregnant!
Anyway, do you know what your Last Normal Photo was? If so, do leave me a comment below with details. I have also added this image to the #MySUndayPhoto linky hosted by photo blogger Darren Coleshill on his marvelous blog. Do follow this link to visit Darren’s blog and see what creative photography other people have come up with.
14 thoughts on “Last normal photo”
Love this. I miss London. I was there the week before they shut it all down. My last normal photo was the 16th of March.
Funny to think how things have all changed in just a couple of months isn’t it?
Amazing shot John. Its wierd even to think what we were doing before lockdown started.
It was a different world Eddie….all those weeks ago!
Wonderful photo John. It’s amazing when you think just how the World has changed since this photo was changed. No one ever imaged just how long this lockdown would go on for
Thank you for linking up to #MySundayPhoto ❤️
Funny you say that Darren. I was convinced the lockdown was going to be one month with the Easter school holiday bang in the middle of it. Didn’t quite work out that way.
That’s a lovely photo of such a stunning skyline. My last normal photo was at Brunch on March 12th in Dubai with our friends and UK neighbours. Within 2-3 days Dubai starting getting very quiet. #mysundayphoto
But the image of your friends and neighbours will be such a timely reminder of how things used to be.
It’s a stunning photo. I look forward to when we are able to visit London again, but it’s not going to be for a very long time! It’s crazy to think of life being ‘normal’.
My last normal photo was taken on my daughter’s birthday – my daughter, son, niece, nephew, sister and brother-in-law all crowded round the cake while my daughter blew her candles out.
Now that Sarah, would have been an amazing photo! i guess you could take such an image now, but you’d all be in the garden celebrating your daughter’s birthday and two metres apart.
It’s strange to look back and think we had no idea what was coming. Great photo. #mysundayphoto
You’re absolutely right Charlotte, it is odd to think how innocent we all were. This was juts a few days before locksown as well!
London is such a built up city, but really pretty if captured in the right light. I really like this and it should be made into a postcard. I hope you are having a good week x
Very kind of you to say it’s picture postcard material Susan. London i svery built up but it is also very photogenic in the right conditions.