Life in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a severe respiratory disease which the World Health Organization has termed a pandemic due to its rapid global spread. This is causing widespread concern with fear and stress, all of which are natural and very human reactions to the changing and uncertain situation in which everyone has suddenly found themselves. People everywhere are socially isolating in an attempt to reduce spreading the virus. As a result, our world has become so small. We no longer venture out en masse for work, shopping, dining, socializing or entertainment, only leaving home for the essential services. As a documentary photographer, I have been covering social humanitarian and environmental issues over the last decade but I have never seen a disaster where everyone worldwide is simultaneously facing the same situation. These last two years I've resided in Fairfax County, just 20 minutes drive to the nation's capital of Washington, D.C. When Virginia's Governor Northam issued a statewide Stay at Home order, I decided to photograph my neighborhood in an attempt to see how my community is dealing with changes to basic social functions. Everyday I walk around by the essential stores and parking lots to talk to my neighbors and photograph them and I found a common gesture; we all wear face masks and gloves. I asked them a common question - how is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life? While the people I photograph are not on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic, they are every day people like you and I whose lives have been drastically altered by the current state of affairs. I convey their statement through my photographs. At this moment the entire world is facing the same challenges physically, psychologically, emotionally, and economically. We are all fighting the same battle. So, let us motivate each other by spreading the message that we can overcome this virus and eventually win by flattening the curve.