Let me start by the following statement. Corona or Covid-19 is real and it’s scary as can be. This is something that has never happened before in our generation, so there are no rule books, there is no….. well there is nothing to which we can compare this, so don’t even try. When you read the media there are two trains of thought. First the “total panic media” and second the “there is no problem at all” media. Let me just give my opinion. We have chosen to stay at home as much as possible. I’m not afraid for the virus for myself, although….. well it’s scary But most of all I am terrified for my family which is a HUGE riskfactor, so to protect them and so many others we have decided to close the studio and shop and do everything by phone and mail, and only go out when necessary or to walk the dog. Now don’t worry we don’t lock ourselves in, we go to the beach with the dog and to the forest and we have a normal life, but we are avoiding places where you can get into contact with other people. And if we see people we just stay 2-3 mtrs away. Every person can/will infect 2-3 people. This means that YOU, yes YOU can infect millions of people in a time of less than 2 days (depending on the situation), so please even if you 100% healthy and are not afraid of Covid-19 think about all the other people and also think about your local small businesses they will have a tremendous hell when they open up again IF they open up again. Every time you go out and voluntary take the risk to infect people it could mean another week in lockdown and a lot of businesses that go bankrupt and loads of jobs lost (maybe even your own) Ok so why this post. Well not really to tell you our opinion, but for something else. The power of the media I think this is the perfect opportunity to show you the “power” of us photographers. And I call upon ALL of you to help me out with this. This is a war that is not fought in our homes or in our stores, the real warriors are the doctors and people in healthcare. As long as they can do their job there will a lot of losses both in human life and economy but at least they are able to do something. If we the people just listen to common sense and stay away from crowds and limit social contacts. And even then they are fighting a gruesome war. That being said… the front line is there not in our shops. For days and weeks we have seen the news, shops that are totally empty, people that are killing each other over a roll of toilet paper etc. As long as you life in a country like ours there is no need to start preparing for world war IV….. this war has no enemies except the virus and the consequences. But the danger is that we can make it a terrible situation. By panicking and literally emptying stores and fighting over toiletpaper (?) we are making the situation a lot lot worse. But hey… when you read the newspapers and see the stores…. they are empty right? Well this morning I decided to make some images in our local AH, which is one of the larger stores in our home town and show you two different sides of the story. The panic side This morning I went to the local store to find this. OMG A bit of cropping could make this a lot worse, but I decided to not do that and just show the images straight out of my phone. However…. lets look really close. The reality Look at the products that are missing? Chips, Mayonaise, pizza and toilet paper (oh and the medicine department was almost empty) Not really the first things you think about to survive right? And let’s be fair these images look really really bad right? Perfect clickbait…. But let’s turn the camera around in that same area with all the empty spots with chips. all the candy stuff is almost gone but all the water, drinks etc…. all there, so don’t worry And look at the reflection here. This would be an awesome panic shot if I cropped that left part out, right? And let’s show some other images. Want fresh food, you know the stuff that actually protects you from the flu and other sicknesses. Yes, indeed it’s a bit more empty than normal, but panic? Well unless you really want that one taste of chips you’re outa luck, get over it buddy get some yoghurt instead, much better. And even for the payment they have a nice system. But this won’t be possible in all cities. You scan your groceries while shopping in an app. And when you’re done, you just go to the display and pay via NFC. Now again this can probably not be done in all stores because people will take advantage of it, but we live in a smaller community. Conclusion Now please don’t get me wrong. There will be cities, stores and countries where it’s a LOT more serious, but please also post images online where you show that there still is enough in the stores. This is already a crisis, but it will be a worldwide disaster if we keep spreading panic. In case you missed it. I’m 100% for a total lockdown in all countries until the healthcare tells us it’s ok to continue our lives. If they say it’s going to be 2 months, so be it. Nothing in money is worth a persons life. So please…. No lockdown parties No unnecessary risks. Think about the other people instead of yourself, please be kind to each other. And when we start again, please support your local dealers and shops, they are incredibly hard hit by this. And for your groceries…. Man I know it’s hard to not bulk up on food and drinks… everyone does it, but please please don’t overdo it. We bought for one week of food and supplies, not because we are afraid there won’t be anything left, but because we can also get sick and don’t want to go out then, but that’s the main reason. But bulking up on toilet paper….. please if you do this ask yourself WHY…..? Don’t make this crisis any worse than it already is, and look at the media second first at your local store, if the store is filled to the brim and people are relaxed don’t bulk up, if you see problems in certain areas…. think about yourself and your family of course, but if there is no need, please don’t create the need…. and this is probably already way too late, but still wanted to show you how photography and choosing the story and angles can tell a story totally differently Seeing that a lot of people are stuck at home at the moment due to the #corona #covid_19 #virus we want to do something positive. And of course we are also hit by the measures so you get some cool discounts on my videos and you help us get thought this all. So on all my full length tutorials we now have a 50% discount. Go to Frankdoorhof.com/videos and /presets and use the discount code “goodluck” and you get the discount. .