First dawn

October 2021

The 11th was the date when NSW stopped having a 5km travel limit, so I left home before sunrise and drove to The Gap to watch the first far-from-home dawn.

Of course, it was damp and cloudy and dark, no dawn to be seen. There’s more variety in the transforms on the photos than I usually do, because the light was so average.

It was great.

Gap bluff Pool at the foot of Gap Bluff Watsons Bay on a rainy dawn day, first day out of lockdown Stairs up to Gap lookout Gap Bluff and North Head

First Sydney lockdown

March & April 2020

I was looking through my phone photo detritus from the time of the original closures (which were not as strict as the July to October 2021 ones, during which I mostly stuck to photographing sunsets rather than sign-of-the-times images).

Early on, this kind of sign was unusual enough that I photographed it especially:

Adore Pharmacy Rozelle entry warning, March 2020

I never figured out if the placement of a hand hygiene sign next to a cheap will preparation sign was deliberate, and if so, intended to be funny, shocking, or just attention-getting:

Hand sanitising warning, April 2020

Speaking of bleak, we played one game of Pandemic but it got awfully real with outbreaks in East Asia and Russia:

Playing Pandemic in lockdown Playing Pandemic in lockdown

Our local Flight Centre was lookng forward to welcoming us back for several months. It closed permanently nearly a year ago now:

Flight Centre Rozelle during lockdown: it never re-opened

I’ve never been to a ANZAC Day dawn ceremony in my life, but I did happen to be awake at dawn, so went and stood in my yard as was the style at the time.

Private dawn ceremony, Anzac Day Anzac Day 2020: no gatherings, just signs

Someone somewhere was audibly playing The Last Post.

"Smile" chalk drawing, lockdown chalk art

All photos.