Pandemic Albums: Motivation and patience through the lens

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Jonny Ratner

Early in the morning on Tuesday, May 5, I captured this shot of an Eta Aquarids meteor as it crossed through the night sky. Despite times of uncertainty, I have been able to experiment with different genres of photography.

Jonny Ratner, Photo Editor

Jonny Ratner
I have started to explore astrophotography and this was my first dive into the genre. In the early morning of April 22, I captured a Lyrid meteor in action as it traversed the night sky.

As a photographer, even in quarantine I am able to do what I love. In a way, being forced to stay in and around my house has also allowed me to explore new genres of photography.

Since I have a lot more time on my hands, I decided to make the best of this unprecedented situation and take photos that I may not have had the time or motivation to take. Most of these photos were like ones that I have seen on publications such as the New York Times, and I never thought I would be given the opportunity to do the same.

Jonny Ratner
Practicing with long exposure light painting, my mom “painted” 2020 as I snapped the shot. I had to set the camera to stay open for 15 seconds to capture the whole thing.

 

 

The picture of my dog may not look like a very interesting picture or one I needed to plan out beforehand, and that is true.

Jonny Ratner
After a long walk, my dog Oscar takes a rest in the grass. He is always full of energy and it is times like these where I appreciate having him around the most.

But for that photo, it wasn’t about the quality, it was about how I am so grateful to have my dog around to lift up my spirits in the toughest of times.

Jonny Ratner
I captured this photo of an almost full moon on Thursday, May 7. I had to spend time looking from the best vantage point to capture the moon above the treeline.

The other four I chose to include were all about patience, trial and error, and motivation, and I was able to improve in all of those categories after seeing the result, as well as learning more about different settings on my camera.

I have been trying my best to remain an optimist through these tough, uncertain times, and taking photos has helped do just that.