Although we never really went away, lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic was a strange time for all – we’re sure you’ll agree. For us, it meant moving at lightning speed to complete shoots to meet new deadlines, and liaising with clients to cancel, postpone and reschedule shoots for ‘sometime in the future.’
It involved us all moving out of the McAteer Photo studio and, like most, transitioning to a home-working setup. Over the lockdown weeks, we had eleventy million phone calls, emails, and Zoom meets with clients, each other, family, and a whole host of new contacts we met online due to the plethora of web-based resources that suddenly came into view.
It was challenging; it was scary; it was exhausting. Despite all that, it was an eye-opening time that presented opportunities to create, up-skill, relax, recharge, evaluate, and adapt. We were glad of the chance to work on our stock image library, support clients when they needed us, create new workflow protocols, and embrace personal creative projects that we’d never found the time for in the past.
Our colleague of nine years, Henk must be the only person to find a new job during the lockdown and, although we’re excited to see him starting a new chapter in his story, everyone at McAteer Photo will miss him lots. We wish him every success in his new career.
So, what now? Along with everyone else, we’ve moved into the next phase. Although we all remain on shifting sands, we’re reinvigorated and delighted to be back working flexibly between the studio and our homes as well as photographing and filming on locations shoots where it’s safe to do so. We’re health & safety suited and booted: we have more hand sanitiser than you can shake a stick at; Alan is looking like ‘PPE Smurf’ with a facemask to suit every outfit; and he’s fully employing all the social distancing skills that he’s secretly been practicing for 30 years.
We’d love to hear from you if you want to discuss new photo or video projects, or even old ones that have been on hold. If you need a blether about what is possible now, we’ll happily share a Zoom coffee with you, or a socially distanced donut.
Our contact details are on our website, along with some new images and case studies.
