Polish photographer Agnieszka Maruszczyk loves to get into the heart of a scene with her compact camera and clicking the shutter. When the world went into lockdown last spring she turned her lens to her son, capturing a child at play. She tells us the story behind this dynamic black & white portrait of her boy.
The shot wasn’t staged in any way. As an onlooker to this scene, I started photographing it in the hope to capture the right moment.
This photograph was taken in spring 2020 during the first lockdown. Our family of three took the opportunity to escape from the city and spend weeks in a cabin in the woods. While we were able to go out and be close to nature, it wasn't always an easy time for my son. He had no face-to-face contact with other kids for a very long time. His parents were his only buddies at that time.
This shot is proof that you never know when a good photo opportunity will arise - usually it's when you expect it the least. I always have a camera to hand so when the right opportunity appears I’m ready - even if there isn’t much time to react. I mainly focus on documentary photography as I like using a compact camera and 35mm lens. I don't have the dilemma of which lens to choose, my only zoom is my legs. A large lens can scare people off however with my minimal kit I can easily be in the middle of the scene without intimidating anyone.
While we were sorting garden tools in the shed, my son found a sickle and started to pretend he was Captain Hook. He was running around with a very scary face. He wasn't actually upset at this particular moment, he was having fun. The shot wasn’t staged in any way. As an onlooker to this scene, I started photographing it in the hope to capture the right moment. It was midday so the light was not on my side and my son is actually out of focus but in my opinion it makes this scene more dynamic and real.
This photo is also my metaphor for lockdown. We all had enough of it sometimes and just wanted things to go back to normal. Many times we felt like wanting to scream.
