Every business be it big or small or individuals, today are battling the challenge that came through this pandemic in some or the other way and the situation for the photographers are not better. A lot of photographers had to cancel their event which were lined up for March, April and May, there was no work left for freelancers, studio were shut down and the delay of the payments were endless.

After getting all their events cancelled due to the corona virus outbreak most of the photographers are thinking of ways through which they can make this time active and fruitful. In these testing time Photography Promotion Trust (PPT) founded, by documentary photographer Padmashri Sudhakar Olwe, came forward and roped in its students who have been working in this field from past few years to utilise this time and shoot the situation around them.

The photographers have been documenting their experiences of lock-down amid the corona virus pandemic.

Sakshi Kapoor, 33 a commercial/corporate photographer having an experience of 8 years, runs a photography firm with her husband in Mumbai.

“When lockdown was announced I realised that my life would be changed as I would be spending a lot more time in fact all time that I have at home. We were not allowed to go out of our building not even to hang around in our society premises and not event our houses. We have stocked our selfies for few months so going out for essential goods was also not an options.

When I was asked me to be part of this project initially I had my concerns. But one day like every other normal human being I was just sitting on my window and pondering and then it struck me that like me people are also spending their most of the time on windows amid this lockdown and the I started noticing the people living in the building in front of my building are in their windows despite of the age group. Hence I have been documenting people in their windows. And it is keeping me sane”

Rahul Mahadik, 24 has been working as freelance photographer from past 5 years.

“Time has stood still for many of us. People moved out of their house only for essentials commodities. People have become very particular for cleanliness and hygiene around them which I had experienced while working on this project. Initially going out and capturing lives made me little edgy and anxious. Taking all precautions like wearing mask, gloves and keeping distance became a new normal for me. It was a bit difficult but I learned new skills sets. I feel each and every picture tells a story like wearing mask and staying 6 feet far away from your loved ones feels different.”

Akash Jhadhav, 23 has a 4 years of working experience as a freelance photographer and currently working with Lokmat Media Group, Mumbai.

“Working on this project was really exciting but as everything comes with its own challenges, same happened to me here. In this pandemic situation it was quite a big challenge for me to move out of my place. But as a photographers are the main source of showing a real picture in reel format, we need to move out and go places.

I had taken my proper care such as mask, hand gloves, sanitizer, warm water etc. with me throughout my shoots. While clicking pictures, one thing was mandatory to follow social distancing so, I used Tele Lens to click the pictures.

Not only things but entire life and standard of living is going to change post pandemic. Especially freelancing is going to be a great risk as freelancers are financially dependent on work projects. Also social distancing would be the most important thing and because of that shots may also vary. In fact it will be very challenging and I am completely ready to face it.”

Akshay Jadhav, 22, is doing photography from past 2 years Now.

“It felt very nice to work on this project as I got a chance to show other people’s life through my photography. I used to travel using public transport, while taking all safety measures. I felt like I was showing an part of people’s lives through my photos. While working on this project I came across Mumbai police and in one of my picture I felt that everyone is in their homes spending time with their family and on the other side there is Mumbai police who are helping to make sure everything is normal and under control”