In this series we asked artists and photographers to share photo diaries of life in quarantine.
This conversation has been edited for clarity.
“A regular day for me would be looking for ways to be awake while the sun’s out. I’m always woken up by two pit bulls, with a whimper or a bark. I play with them for a few minutes and tell them how good they are. (This photo series is of them, Lulu and Iggy. Pit bulls are very elegant creatures.) After that I have coffee, then I’m mostly glued to my phone, watching something or talking to friends. Everything else would then be white noise, except for the two doggos who are in constant need of attention. At times I get a jolt of ideas for personal projects, most of which I don’t really do anything about. I don’t really follow the news faithfully, but I’m always updated somehow. There’s no escaping it.
“The most recent film I saw and enjoyed was Les Choristes. I binged three seasons of Elite and four seasons of Money Heist—definitely made me want to speak Spanish. I’m currently watching Into the Night on Netflix.
“I haven’t been able to produce shoots or creative work so far, it has been almost two months now. It was easy for me to be comfortable with not being productive for the first month, but I soon got in touch with reality and have been thinking of ways to go about what I do, since I’m most likely not going out anytime soon. The most difficult thing I’ve had to put up with so far is feeling like shit, which I’m still thankful for, in the grander scale of things.
If we get out of this alive, I hope we never forget what life is like right now and have motivation that lasts a lifetime.
“My thoughts about life and its relationship with art constantly change, more so this time. If there’s anything positive this situation has brought me, it’s being able to thoroughly think of ways to approach what I do and its bigger purpose. Are online shoots something I want to do? Should I focus on doing projects that I can do alone? Is this the right time for me to be more experimental? Should I just wait for things to go back to the way they were? How long will that take? I’m not really sure. I hope I can still afford to do what I do.
“After the lockdown, a cup of coffee al fresco on a sunny day would be nice. I know a number of art exhibits happening, let’s hope they push through, and perhaps my rescheduled shoots as well. If we get out of this alive, I hope we never forget what life is like right now and have motivation that lasts a lifetime. I hope we’ll all be able to quickly adapt to this ‘new normal’ and stay healthy. My biggest hope really is for a better political climate, but that may be reaching for the stars.” —Paolo Crodua as told to Jed Gregorio
Paolo Crodua is a Filipino photographer who works between Manila and Cebu, Philippines, and Taiwan. He shoots fashion, portraits, and documentary assignments surrounding art and youth cultures. Among Manila creatives, he is arguably best known for his photos of celebrities during the seminal redesign of Scout magazine in 2015, where he was commissioned to shoot majority of its covers. He is also a frequent collaborator of independent fashion brands like Proudrace, Salad Day, and OJK, as well as other advertising and commercial clients. His photographs have appeared in various editorial publications, including L’Officiel Manila, CNN Philippines, The Philippine Star, and Preview. He is presently working on personal photographic projects with the aims of exhibition and publication.
See more of his work here.
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MORE IN THIS SERIES:
Creativity in Lockdown: A quarantine diary by artist Mio Aseremo
Creativity in Lockdown: A quarantine diary by photographer Gio Panlilio