The photos that are being circulated in the media or on social media during quarantine are surprisingly romantic. There is a risk of infection outside, alarming news, a difficult situation in hospitals, perhaps only on a subconscious level, but in all cases, frightened behavior, and the photos are thoughtful and sad. There are no events, but there is regret. And spring…

Photographers portray spring with a small number of people as a symbol of loss and an unattainable dream. Now that the restrictions have been lifted, it is becoming more apparent.

Three different photographers think about their profession and their feelings. It is about fear, chronology and inner peace.

Narek Aleksanyan, Hetq

Every time there is a mass event in Armenia, I have the opportunity to gain experience.

This time it was the pandemic, which is not a well-tested topic for photojournalism, and the main difference from other topics, such as demonstrations and large public events, is that now, not a lot is happening and you don’t have time to go from one place to another, but vice versa. There are few actors and the story plots are repeated from time to time.

Like the Bitcoin formula, it’s still possible to secure something in the beginning, then the masks are repeated, the methods are limited, the empty streets come to an end, it is difficult to enter hospitals.

This time I photographed a few main artifacts like masked citizens, the police, cafes at first open, then closed, then reopened … And I started playing with new formats, in addition to the photo, I tried to focus on what was happening in the city with a video.

I was wondering what dynamics I would find in the motion film. The photo captures the moment, but I had to show the moments in slow, rhythmic time. After making a few street “movies,” I made two video reports, both about volunteers working during the days of the epidemic.

Now I’ve taken a break, I haven’t been taking photos for a couple of weeks, I want to know what to photograph. Now there is more time to plan ahead, there was no such opportunity before.

When the mass events were going fast, we took pictures of how it happened, intuitively, then analyzed what we missed, what would be good to focus on next time.

And each time that “next time” was different, especially this time, when the stories seem to be more “sheltered,” the rules of photography have changed, interesting topics are isolated or self-isolated.

Now, it seems, you’ll need to knock on more doors to get in.

Lilian Galstyan, Panorama

I mostly do photoshoots of the city for the editorial office. Of course, if I refuse to take to the streets, saying that I am afraid of being infected, I will definitely not be forced to work. But I also want to take photos, because this is, after all, a story that will be archived in the future.

I mostly shoot in the city, the empty streets, the spring season without people, the flowering trees without people, the police checking passers-by, the stops without transport, and the liturgy in an empty church.

There was a series of yard playgrounds that were abandoned on warm sunny days.

Especially in the rain, the streets become completely deserted. On the one hand, I take photos, on the other hand, my heart feels crushed. It’s like spring has passed by us. There is a contrast between the spring blossom and the empty streets, where there is no joy.

The photographer must be at the scene, but for now, there is no event (say, we can’t enter hospitals for security reasons). And we have been taking photos of the street for two months now, realizing that it is no longer interesting.

How many people can be photographed wearing masks and gloves, especially since they are also upset and do not want to be photographed?

I think that even after the end of the state of emergency, mass events will not happen immediately.

I’m thinking about making a series about a village. About how the villagers plan how the land is cultivated. After all, the economic downturn came as a surprise to everyone.

To be honest, I myself have no idea what can be done, it’s as if we are facing a dead end. This self-isolation lasted a long time.

Areg Balayan, Freelance photographer

Although I am a freelance photographer, now I am taking photos for the information center attached to the Prime Minister’s Office. To be honest, I haven’t done much yet. What I have done is not ceremonial photos, but rather stories, human stories. Now, when everyone is at home, scared and hidden, they take pictures of those who work, whether they like it or not, the police, the bakers, the shopkeepers, the firefighters, the doctors and so on.

In general, I think that if you have to show something bad, then it is in the process of being corrected. I’ve never taken a picture of anything that could harm people. Yes, there was a case when I made a fuss when the Gandzasar monastery was covered, because a lot of wrong things were happening and as a citizen, I couldn’t keep quiet. But I will never go to find “dirt” and say, look at what we are doing…

It is not so interesting to photograph the street on quarantine days.

I guess we will all rest a little now, and nature will take a break from us. It was as if we had come out of our lifestyle and started to see where we lived. People usually live in a “homeless” way, without even thinking about, for example, what kind of trees grow in the yard of their building. And now we started to see the trees, each other, the weather. And also responded by rejoicing or worrying.

Of course, people died because of the epidemic, but if we look at the situation from space, we will notice something very important. Mankind needed a break. We became a mouse running on a wheel, and when the wheel stopped, we realized that we could live without intense running.

For example, from time to time I would announce a period of self-quarantine. I mean, I did nothing. Not that I wasn’t doing anything, I was doing exactly nothing. Even if it made my family angry, I would take a break.

This situation was a stimulus for you to start doing something you didn’t want to do. I started teaching while I was looking for a space before the quarantine, I couldn’t find it, now I don’t even need the space.

I’ve never been scared… Neither of the infection nor of the impossibility of making money. I thought that if we lived in the 1990s, lining up for hours to buy bread with a coupon, we could still live now. The fears have diminished in me, now I am sure that we will overcome everything and stay alive. If you are alive, then wherever you are, you will endure and carry on. The key is to be ready for any outcome.

And now I feel inner peace, of course, I work, but my head is calm, as if it’s on standby. Quarantine was also an opportunity to get out of my previous project, which took a lot of strength from me.

I don’t watch the news because… I haven’t watched it in a long time. When we lived in Stepanakert, my wife read and watched the news every day. There was a moment when I realized that she was in serious depression because she told me every day what terrible events and conspiracies were taking place in different parts of the world: people were drowning, there was a bus crash, explosions and so on.

I think clinging to news is an unnecessary and pointless activity that takes away most of your vital energy if you’re only being informed, but you can’t take certain steps and influence the situation.

Nune Hakhverdyan