I received a phone call from a photographer friend Lucas very soon after the lockdown began. His first question was; 'Ahsan, what are we going to do now? '

I got thinking about how we can connect with our passions, as well as, share our experiences and create a peer support system. This led to the creation of our online meetups, and as part of one of the first challenges set, we decided to focus on creating some self-portraits.

The term 'selfie' originally started in an Australian Internet forum in 2002. Today it is the most common form of a self-portrait. Social media has helped to increase this to another level, but 'selfies' have been around for much longer. In 1966 Buzz Aldrin took one while spacewalking outside Gemini 12. Kim Kardashian's book 'Selfish' 2015 is perhaps the best representation of the generational shift in how we take self-portraits.

The question was, how was I going to create something unique, something different? At first, I completely overthought the challenge and didn't get up to start creating.

Then one evening, I took some pictures sat at my desk. That's all it took to get going. Here are the initial results:

For these shots, I am using my Nikon D800 and 50mm fixed lens.

I had my camera propped up on a book (I don't recommend this). While carefully balancing this, I focused the camera and then took the shot. You can even try using the timer on yours.

I am now delving deeper into this and will share with you self-portraits using some off-camera lighting next time!

In times like these, it is necessary to keep your spirits, physical health and mind active and engaged. If you have taken some self-portraits this month, drop us a link to your work below!