Given the current quarantine situation, it is expected for creators to see a disruption in their normal working routines. We decided to ask seven creators around the world, who are also Wirestock contributors, about how life has changed for them recently. By showing you how other creators are coping with the times, we hope you will gain some insight and inspiration for your projects - and, possibly it will help clear any creative blocks you are experiencing during these uncertain times.
Fábio Roque
Where are you from?
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
How has life changed for you as a creator since quarantine?
Life in Brazil has drastically changed since quarantine. There isn't much going on the streets so all the creative people that I know (myself included) are doing everything to turn our homes into a peaceful place for our minds so we can work from home and be innovative with our work. I am now working 100% from home and my duties as a creative have increased a lot.
Find more from Fábio at https://www.instagram.com/roque.fabio/
Jessica Lewis
Where are you from?
Saegertown, PA, USA
How has life changed for you as a creator since quarantine?
Because my husband and I both work from home, our lives did not have a drastic change. We live in the country so, we were already naturally practicing social distancing! The biggest change was when our three kids, (13, 11, 7) all began homeschooling. We have never appreciated teachers so much! The images I began to capture were of the kids doing schoolwork at home, helping with chores, playing outside in the snow, and playing their favorite VR games. I began to look at our home as a stage where I could capture lifestyle moments that could work great for stock images. Give a photographer some limits and they seem to explode with creativity!
Find more from Jessica at https://www.thepaintedsquare.com/
Anete Lusina
Where are you from?
Latvia (but reside in the United Kingdom)
How has life changed for you as a creator since quarantine?
In a way, quarantine has finally made me slow down. I always had numerous projects on the go, with a brief international trip booked every month or so, and I rarely said "no" to people who needed my help or advice. Although I lost a lot of business due to cancellations, postponements or because the company I was working for simply couldn't afford to pay, my life changed in that I started looking after myself first and foremost. I began focusing on things I can do, instead of being upset about the things I can't. For example, I went through my archives to add any stock photos as well as started creating new ones around my home. I organized a month-long project for other photographers in lockdown to regain brief moments of creativity. I also understood the importance of saying “no” to things that don't help me grow in any way. Aspirations that previously may have seemed exciting, such as, booking more destination weddings, suddenly showed how unpredictable and unreliable they are. I have begun to spend more time working on my mental and physical health, and taking things in my pace instead of feeling like I am in a race with others. I've seemed to have found more happiness in the little things and moments around me instead of constantly being on-the-go and missing out on actually enjoying what I create.
Find more from Anete at www.anetelusina.com
Patrik Wennerlund
Where are you from?
Borås, Sweden
How has life changed for you as a creator since quarantine?
Here in Sweden our government has adopted a different strategy than most of the other countries. We haven't really had a quarantine. Instead, we have used a social distancing based on our own responsibility. In my opinion, it has worked well. I make the most money selling prints of my photos at exhibitions and other events. With the virus, all events and exhibitions have been canceled so it has affected my income a lot. But I still am selling some photos and prints digitally. What has affected me the most is that I cannot take my photo trips as I usually do. Discovering other cultures, languages and landscapes is a fantastic part of what I do. Now, on the other hand, I have been able to walk around and discover the nature around me. It's not entirely wrong either. I really hope we can move around again soon!
Find more from Patrik at www.pwmfoto.com
Alie Stone
Where are you from?
Cape Town, South Africa
How has life changed for you as a creator since quarantine?
My life did not change at all. I live on a farm and my life has stayed the same since before the lockdown. Now, I am mostly taking photos of sunsets and bugs.
Eric Muhr
Where are you from?
Newberg, Oregon, USA
How has life changed for you as a creator since quarantine?
I try to get outside at least once a week for landscape photography and regularly cover 100 miles or more on foot every month, so being stuck inside was going to be a challenge. I used the first few weeks under our state's "stay at home" order to catch up on editing, start a new blog, and focus some time on both marketing and research. I did a lot of reading. Then, as the stay at home order developed into a "minimize travel" recommendation, I identified harder-to-get-to locations and put together a lot more road hikes and a lot fewer trail hikes in order to ensure a chance to social distance should I run into other adventurers. Here in Oregon and in nearby Southwest Washington, most of my favorite spots remain closed, but state parks and national forests have more and more open locations as well as clear guidance on how to be outside safely and responsibly.
Find more from Eric at https://www.ericmuhr.club/
Timo Nausch
Where are you from?
Munich, Germany
How has life changed for you as a creator since quarantine?
Normally I like to be at big events and document what happens. However, since every major event in Germany was cancelled, I felt a big cut in my creativity and work at the beginning. I found it difficult to find exciting scenes and was quite demotivated. After a while, however, I saw the chance to document this time in itself - as it will go down in the history books. My creativity came back bit by bit. I managed to get a new perspective on what was happening in Germany (and in the world) and finally, I even felt brave enough to create my own YouTube channel, a topic that I had been thinking about for a while before the lockdown. All in all I have more to do now than before the lockdown, even though there are still no major events taking place. Especially us creative people, who often have no (permanent) employers who tell us what to do, should take advantage of times like these and the flexibility that it brings and also to try and break new ground.
Find more from Timo at https://www.timonausch.com
Although our lives have changed, there are still many opportunities for creatives to express themselves. We hope you can use these experiences of these artists around the world as inspiration to fuel your future creative projects while in quarantine. Thank you for continuing to be engaged with Wirestock and we wish you success, health, and a flowing creative life during these times.
