Welcome to the second half of our photographic diary of a pandemic. You can view part one here.
Each week, from April 2020 to March 2021, a new theme was opened for the RPS membership. From all the entries submitted, seven images were chosen to be displayed as the main image on the rps.org home page the following week (one a day). Below are a selection of those chosen. It was important that all the themes were achievable within the constraints of various worldwide lockdowns.
Week 20 - theme 'Letters' (closed 13 September 2020)
Top: Urs Albrecht LRPS
Bottom: Anton Panchenkov
The top image seems to represent the chaos of new words that we were all hearing related to the pandemic (COVID, coronavirus etc). While the bottom image, which appears to show a city worker on their daily commute to work, is a stark reminder of how much things changed for those of us who were no longer allowed to do this.
Week 21 - theme 'Sport' (closed 20 September 2020)
Top: Simon Maddison LRPS
Middle: Bernie Totten LRPS
Bottom: Anna Withey LRPS
Most of the images submitted for this theme were from archives of photographs held by RPS members. They were extremely nostalgic, showing fun past occasions when we were free to mix in groups.
Children playing games in the street brought a bit of welcome fun to our regulated lives. The top picture captures this feeling perfectly.
Week 22 - theme 'Urban' (closed 25 September)
Top: Chris Renk
Bottom: Alexey Belov
Many of the images entered for this theme showed bleak urban emptiness. Architectural spaces devoid of human presence. Where there were people evident, they felt surreal and almost like they were intruding on an apocalyptic film set.
Week 23 - theme 'Transport' (closed 4 October)
Top: Nadia Awad
Middle: Siegfried Rubbert LRPS
Bottom: Conor Donnelly LRPS
Public transport, and in particular underground trains, featured prominently in 'Transport' week. Like the 'Urban' theme, many of the images submitted depicted emptiness or a single lonely traveller.
The skateboard photograph awarded us a moment of intimacy with a solo traveller, enhanced by the closeness to the subject, at a time when individuals were largely invisible.
Week 24 - theme 'Autumn' (closed 11 October)
Top: Grahame Soden ARPS
Middle: Urs Albrecht LRPS
Bottom: Clive Edwards ARPS
Seasonal themes always guarantee a wealth of beautiful images and our 'Autumn' week was no different.
There was a real variety in subject matter chosen but all the featured photographers skilfully captured the magic and colours of the time of the year.
Week 25 - theme 'Interior' (closed 18 October)
Top: Paul Edmunds ARPS
Bottom: Alexey Belov
Strangely, most of the 'Interior' week entries had a predominance of the colour blue in them. They were also largely interiors of buildings which was a surprise as the topic could be interpreted in many different ways.
Week 26 - theme 'Weather' (closed 25 October)
Top: John Credland ARPS
Middle: Conor Donnelly LRPS
Bottom: Paul Fowler
The weather felt predictable and safe in its unpredictability during the pandemic and, perhaps consequentially, people embraced the theme with lots of stunning entries.
Week 27 - theme 'Documentary' (closed 30 October)
Top: André Bergmans
Middle: Yasser Alaa Mobarak LRPS
Bottom: Dr Sarah Newton ARPS
An interesting week as there were not a great number of entries for what is normally an incredibly popular topic. In England we started a second lockdown on the 5 November so it is possible that this had an impact on those who would normally enter from here.
Week 28 - theme 'Archive' (closed 8 November)
Top: Bernie Totten LRPS
Bottom: Pabitra Sen Sharma
This week, people were challenged to scour their archives for their best images. A lot of the work submitted was in black and white.
Week 29 - theme 'Work' (closed 22 November)
Top: Pabitra Sen Harma
Next: Yasser Alaa Mobarak LRPS
Next: Urs Albrecht LRPS
Bottom: Sanjoy Sengupta LRPS
The 'Work' theme was fascinating as it showed so many different kinds of jobs around the world. It was also lovely and felt important seeing people getting on with their lives despite the pandemic.
Week 30 - theme 'Hope' (closed 29 November)
Rob Kershaw ARPS
This was the least subscribed week of the whole competition. Was the topic difficult or the feeling of hope gone?
Week 31 and 33 - theme 'Winter' (closed 20 December)
Top: Pam Sherren ARPS
Next: June Hanson
Next: Edmund Nagele FRPS
Next: Paul Fowler
Next: Rob Kershaw ARPS
Bottom: Jeremy O'Keeffe ARPS
There were so many wonderful entries for this theme that selected pictures were run over two weeks. All of the work submitted was very atmospheric. Unusually, there were a large number of of analogue photography entries.
Week 32 - theme 'Celebration' (closed 24 December)
Top: Hassan Abuzaid
Bottom: Conor Donnelly LRPS
There didn't feel much cause for celebration when this theme was released. However, competition entrants dug deep and found some lovely images to cheer everyone up at the end of the year.
Week 34 - theme 'Reflection' (closed 10 January 2021)
Lorraine Poole LRPS
While some chose to enter images of people quietly in thought, others submitted very literal images of reflection. This image sums up the two different ways of expressing the theme perfectly.
Week 35 - theme 'Shadow' (closed 17 January)
Top: Pabitra Sen Sharma
Bottom: Pam Sherren ARPS
Shadows can create mood so it was interesting to see how the entries made us feel this week. The top image is a study in how to create menace. The bottom image is an excellent example of how to form the illusion of depth, texture and pattern using shadow.
Week 36 - theme 'Hobbies' (closed 24 January)
Lorraine Poole LRPS
While many hobbies were represented, this image of one man and his dog - oh and his camera - was a great example of the lengths we photographers put ourselves through to get the right shot!
Week 37 - theme 'ICM (intentional camera movement)' (closed 31 January)
Top: Diana Buzoianu ARPS
Bottom: Jan Beesley ARPS
This was a great subject for trying at home and we had lots of entries as a result.
I love the softness of the landscape in contrast with the almost sci-fi quality of the top image.
Week 38 - theme 'Love' (closed 7 February)
Top: Emma Solomon
Next: Joanne Van Praag
Next: Maggie Jary ARPS
Bottom: Sanjoy Sengupta LRPS
This week was proof, if we needed it, that we can have or find love in dark times. The pandemic has taught us who is really important to us.
Week 39 - theme 'Symmetry' (closed 14 February)
Top: Mark Reeves ARPS
Middle: Wendy Ball
Bottom: Urs Albrecht LRPS
The top two images are sublime in their simplicity of composition and skill of execution.
The ingenuity of photographers really is unlimited as the bottom image, of the inside of a washing machine, shows. Lockdowns cannot quash us!
Week 40 - theme 'Bokeh' (closed 21 February 2021)
Emma Delves-Broughton FRPS
It feels fitting to end this feature and competition with a picture by Emma Delves-Broughton - a best friend and someone who helped me get through the pandemic. Emma is also a Fellow of the RPS.
I really hope that this competition served to bring a little bit of light into your world each day, either as a viewer or as someone who entered. While it felt like the world was going crazy, the aim of the competition was to create periods of mindful focus for our members and website visitors. Heartfelt thanks to all those who participated.
The copyright on all images belongs to the photographer.