"It's photographing things that people don't normally see"

Social media regularly gets a bad rap for damaging mental health and for polarising debate and sowing the seeds of division - and rightly so, to a large extent. But as someone regularly energised and inspired by what I discover through Twitter in particular, I'd suggest that we should acknowledge that, on occasion, it can have a profoundly positive impact on mental wellbeing while also forging connections between people and stimulating creative endeavour.

As lockdown bit last spring, Ruxx Naqvi was feeling low, but - as she told Unfiltered - following a few people on Twitter and plucking up the courage to reach out to fellow photography enthusiast Marc Davenant in particular proved priceless: "Photography has definitely made a difference. It distracted me from feeling alone. The online interaction has helped - I've felt a lot of support there." One thing led to another, and before she knew it, she had an article showcasing her work (and especially her use of colour and light) on the BBC site.

Naqvi isn't alone in finding that restrictions on freedom of movement (and having to focus on her immediate environment as a result) proved to be unexpectedly liberating in creative terms. Just as Photographer of the Year Craig Easton set out to destabilise dominant popular and media narratives about Blackburn, the Bradford-based artist sees photography as "a positive way to go about changing certain views of the city" - and, judging by the reaction to her pictures, she's succeeding.

The Unfiltered interview also touched on the ethics and perils of street photography, the photographic preservation of the soon-to-be-past for future generations, finding your own angle (quite literally) and the value of "seeing what other people don't see and capturing it in the moment".

She has some sage advice too: "You should photograph what you find appealing. There doesn't have to be a story behind it. If I take a photo of a puddle reflection, what kind of story can you tell with that? Just get your camera out and shoot it!"