My Work | Lockdown "Hallucinations"

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy | All Rights Reserved

What happens to this travel photographer used to documenting exotic locales and photogenic people during a seemingly endless lockdown due to a pandemic ? Well, for one thing...he starts hearing voices coming from his GFX50S and GFX50R cameras. Yes, whiny voices rebelling at the enforced idleness, and refusing to work on any nascent still life photography efforts.  The cameras' constant whining that they had been promised trips to Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong and even Tokyo during 2020, and that he was now reneging on these promises, started to affect his mental state...and he was now clearly hearing these whines. 

These 'hallucinations' -that's what they are- started when he was setting up the spices and props as per the above photograph. The cameras sullenly refused to work when brought in to photograph it. Their batteries were flat; their menus refused to show and the message was loud and clear; "you did not buy us for this! " they moaned. It's only the considerable pressure and threats of being ignominiously sold on eBay that made them do their job.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy | All Rights Reserved

As the travel photographer was busy preparing the second still life which involved an ancient Chinese water opium pipe, the GFX50S scurried to his side expressing an interest in being used for it, if and only if, it was allowed to take a puff or two on the pipe. The request was reluctantly granted (as it was still a minor), but the photo shoot was a success.

With the lockdown very possibly extending into the month of May, this photographer is bracing for continued resistance from the two Fuji GFX50 cameras that will still be strident in their disapproval at being used for still life photography instead of reveling in exotic places...but tempting them with a few puffs on the opium pipe might do the trick.

To be continued...