Online gallery: striking photos capture life in lockdown

Students, staff, past pupils, parents and friends of RGS contributed a range of stunning and thought-provoking photographs to our lockdown photography competition. The winners, to be judged by award-winning National Geographic and Time magazine documentary photographer and RGS past pupil Mark Read, will be announced in November's RGS News. Which would be your choice?

Tai Newman (Year 11, age 16, RGS student) Light in the Dark "I really like this picture because even through hard times we can find the light in the dark to guide the way, I stayed up until 2 am to capture this and I am very happy with how it turned out! I have a burning passion for photography (I upload nearly all my stuff to my Instagram: capturedbytai)."

Sally Dring (RGS librarian) Elijah finally gets to meet GG (Great Grandma). "Elijah was only nine weeks when lockdown began and doesn’t live nearby. This was a very special moment, when he met his great grandma for the first time."

Tajuarn Gurney (age 11, RGS student) Bird "Birds are beautiful, free creatures and looking out for them and filming them takes away the feeling of being trapped inside."

Evelyn Dodds, (age 12, RGS student) Stairs "My image is about how we - England - seem to have such a long journey ahead of us to normality and we have barely even got to the middle. The stairs are the journey we must undertake and I represent the beaten England, waiting to get going once more. "

Tim Flanagan (Ripon) Summer Barber Queue "This was taken on 4th July 2020 at 6.30am, showing a queue of men of all ages waiting to have their hair cut at City Barbers in High Skellgate, Ripon, the first opportunity in weeks after the coronavirus lockdown, for both men and women across the country, to visit a barbers or a hair salon. I took the photo for the Stray Ferret online news service."

Sandra Morgan (parent of past pupils) Tree  "Taken on my phone camera at Ingleborough Reserve, this is a metaphor for isolation and the consolation of the natural world - being shaped by events and yet persisting, the tree is growing out of the stones."

Chris Barber (past pupil) Kenyan Sunbird "My planned safari in Kenya for my 75th birthday had to be cancelled due to coronavirus. This is a bird shot from a previous trip, a colourful photo to brighten these darker times. See you for a belated 75th trip after the coronavirus crisis is over.”

Giles Price (RGS parent) Optometry – Our New Normal


Andrew Hogg (RGS staff) Social distance "You can see some life but, in the distance (ships) Blue - we still have some colour left in this COVID 19 world. Age - time is precious and COVID 19 is stealing it."

Darcey Sands (RGS student) A Little Freedom "This is a photograph I took of Needles, off the Isle of Wight."

Annabelle Paterson (RGS sixth form student)"After lockdown ended I captured this picture on a Broadland walk. The peculiarity of the yacht seemingly sailing on grass strongly resonates with the sense of strangeness we have all experienced throughout lockdown."

Isabella Royston (age 15, RGS student) Funtime walktime ‘Walking the dogs each day during lockdown has relieved a lot of stress. To not only see the dogs enjoying themselves, but also the crops growing as the weeks have gone by – both oblivious to and unaffected by the problems and the suffering caused by Covid-19 – has helped lift my spirits

Ian Savage (RGS parent) Bike "On a bike ride along the Whitby to Scarborough old railway track, looking out towards Robin Hood's Bay on the left and Ravenscar on the right, during the early weeks of lockdown in April. It was foggy, wet but very quiet and still. This photograph was taken in colour but on that day everything looked grey, apart from some green shoots of rugged heather."

Joseph Priestley (past pupil) Private Prayer "Heading back to work as marketing officer at Ripon Cathedral after lockdown felt surreal. As if to ease me back into the job, the building decided to treat me to views like these. This light only appears for a few hours of a few days a year as the sun aligns with the western windows of the central tower. I have never captured it before this year."

Martha Jones (age 12, RGS student) Sunrise View "This was taken from my window and it represents how sometimes things seem out of focus but through it all there will always be colour and beauty behind the blur. I also chose these colours to represent a sunrise to show through the darkness there will always be light in the end."

Terry Fell (RGS staff) Blossom "I was in school one day shortly after closure and happened to walk through the quad where I saw these beautiful billowing clouds of pink blossom - more than I have ever seen before on this tree. It was sad that few people would see the display, but also wonderfully affirming that even at a time when life felt so confusing and uncertain, the world was still so full of beautiful things."

Niamh Peters (friend of RGS) Alone. "This conveys how lockdown has left me feeling isolated inside with a higher appreciation of the outside time I have; yet even when we are outside there is this feeling of isolation and segregation. Being locked in our homes and not being able to see the people you love is very hard and having that juxtaposition of then going outside and experiencing the outside world without the freedom we're used is very secluding. Yet at the same time there is a feeling of freedom as society finally has a break from the constant yearning for a fast life! Leaving the people to finally be with themselves and learn and love themselves."

George Glenton, 13, (friend of RGS) "This is a photo of my brother Ben, rock-jumping with a Dartmoor sunset."