
A Day at the Sea
Diana Serban
Photograph of still life using flowers, shells, algae, seawater and sand
“I found myself immersed in the process, losing track of time while creating and experimenting.”
Diana Serban
Diana’s Lockdown Story
‘I am a self-taught amateur photographer whose work explores themes around individual and collective experiences, transience, legacy and aesthetic stereotypes.
For me, photography acted as a wellbeing tool, therefore my goal is to create a context for the viewer to connect with overlooked emotions. In the past 3 years, my images have been included in several group exhibitions in the UK, Netherlands, Portugal and France, as part of the Shutter Hub collective.

[Lockdown] has reactivated my anxiety and panic attacks and made me seek support from a psychotherapist.
It has also made me reconsider my career and future, invest more in personal relationships and my personal wellbeing and creativity.



[These] photographs are from a selection of images I have created during the lockdown. I chose four stills- studies of colour, light and composition and three self-portraits symbolising stages of dealing with the lockdown- Reason, Surrender, and Embrace.
When it comes to A Day at the Sea, it actually has a nice backstory: I collected the shells, algae, seawater and sand from a beach in Southend on what was my first outing after the lockdown. I then recreated the environment in my home in Hampstead. In a large glass container, I added wild summer flowers foraged from the Heath to symbolise the Summer season. As a hint to a sunken treasure, I also included a dried camellia flower, spray painted in gold. I played with various coloured backgrounds behind the glass but decided on a turquoise satin textile that represented perfectly the colour and light variations of the sea on a sunny day.

Photography has always improved my wellbeing, especially during the pandemic as I found myself with more time on my hands to dedicate to it.
[Covid-19] has allowed me to dedicate valuable time to education, research, introspection and especially practice. I found myself immersed in the process, losing track of time while creating and experimenting.’

To learn how to create a still life photograph in 6 easy steps, see Diana’s blog post on our Create page.
Visit Diana’s website or instagram page to see more of her work.
Text and images © Diana Serban