It was March 12, 2020 in Egypt, shortly before the surprising announcement of the national curfew and the closure of all airports in Egypt by the Egyptian President.

My wife and I went on vacation in her home country far from Canada and spent a few days in Sahl Hasheesh on the Red Sea in Egypt. The World was still all right then.

It was supposed to be a journey into the unknown and totally unexpected, it was probably also destiny.

Our vacation with the planned duration of 15 days ended after 3 and a half months in isolation. We spent 3 months in our home and my wife's family in Cairo before we could return to Vancouver.

On March 12th, 2020 a huge storm moved over the Red Sea and later on also over Cairo. Not really common for Egypt to experience such a heavy storm with strong winds and a lot of rain, which lasted over a few days.

We sat comfortably in our apartment near the beach and we saw this storm and the wild sea. I grabbed the camera and went down to the beach. I was alone surrounded by palm trees and empty lounge chairs, and I took a series of long exposures.

The weather was miserable, but somehow I was totally relaxed and calm when I took the pictures. I had fun. The sea was wild and angry and my wife told me I was crazy to go out in this weather.

When I showed her the pictures afterwards, she understood why I had gone out and she was relaxed again.

That's why I named this picture Calmness, which has meanwhile earned well-known international photography awards.

Be calm and stay safe.