I was born and brought up in Oxford, and have often photographed Oxford  – or bits of Oxford.  It is really really difficult though because the streets are always busy with people bustling around either for work or shopping.  Then there are the omnipresent tourists, delivered in droves by enormous coaches, hogging the streets with no respect for people trying to navigate around them.  It is a busy place.

Then suddenly Covid19 descends.  The world changes utterly, completely, in the space of a month.  People are banished from the streets.  Cities deserted, buildings and streets abandoned as if by  an apocalypse.  Eery, like a film set.  Oxford is no exception.  When was the last time that the city was deserted?  Occasional cars and people.  Just sound – a distant murmur from an air conditioning plant is the background sound to the early morning bird chorus.  You can hear the birds.  Unreal

I am fortunate.  I have a press card, so I can wander with my cameras.  I can stop and ponder, wait briefly for the moment, then take my picture.  It is early morning, the light is at its best.  This unique opportunity presents itself, the light is perfect.  I’m doing my 10,000 paces by 9am!  These images are one of the silver linings to this terrible virus.  

Stephen Foote is a contributor to aamora and his previous posts can be found here and here

For more images of Oxford in Lockdown