‘It looked like a stage set’: Gideon Mendel’s best phone shot

Celebrating his 19th birthday with a six-hour bike ride through London’s deserted streets was not the plan when photographer Gideon Mendel’s son, Jonah, began university.

“He started the autumn before the first Covid lockdown and was flourishing and enjoying his social life,” Mendel says. “When lockdown was announced, he came home very abruptly and quite bewildered.”

Related: ‘A day at the beach is such a universal pastime’: Mariel and Katherine Tyler’s best phone picture

On the day of his birthday they rode through Hackney, down to the deserted West End and to Hyde Park, savouring the fresh air and unusual quiet. As they crossed Shoreditch High Street a little after 5pm, Mendel saw this man sunbathing at the side of the road. He took one photograph on his Samsung S10: “The light was falling so dramatically that it looked like a stage set. Later, when I shared it on my Instagram and so many people commented, I realised I had a great picture, but I’d just taken it on the hoof on a relatively crap cameraphone,” he says. “I went back twice more in the following days to try to reshoot it on my proper camera, but try as I might, I could never recreate anything as interesting.”

Mendel did manage to speak to the man on a return visit, however, and learned he lived in a nearby flat and would move his chair to different sunny spots throughout the day. “I think some people have a nostalgia for the peace and quiet back then, and the time to do stuff, to relax and embrace the solitude, just like this man is. This photo encapsulates a weird, shared moment in recent history, but I’m reminded also of what a difficult moment it was for many young people; some of whom are still dealing with the reverberations.”

• Comments on this piece are premoderated to ensure discussion remains on topics raised by the writer. Please be aware there may be a short delay in comments appearing on the site.