On 23 February – I remember the date precisely, for some reason – I was so happy. I was finally getting well again after it was my turn with covid (no heavier than a normal cold for me, only it lasted longer). Spring seemed just around the corner. There were no infection control measures anymore, and I finally felt safe from the pandemic, having been infected on top of three shots. Now, I thought, now the world is finally getting back to normal.

Then Putin invaded Ukraine the day after, and the world turned on its head yet again.

The university where I work is preparing to receive Ukrainian scholars and students who are fleeing the country. Russian friends have a bad time of it. One colleague sent her son to school camp, and told me that some of the other parents had banded together to ensure sufficient iodine tablets for the whole class, as if they expected an atom bomb to come our way during the five days that camp lasted. (Our school assures us that they have the mandated store of iodine tablets, and asks our consent to give it to our son as needed.)

I read that out of the fourteen countries bordering Russia, only one has never been at war with or occupied by Russia – Norway. I don’t know whether to be reassured or scared by this fact.

So yes, as Staci says, photographic mojo ebbs and flows for sure, and right now the tide is out and the tidal range very large indeed.

I wonder if I can manage what I couldn’t during the pandemic, and use the camera for coping.

Best, Jenny G.