COVID-19 is having its ferocious impact on all of us. My studio is closed for photoshoots and I currently have no income. My wife and I are isolating at home as much as possible. Just when I finally moved my studio out of our live/work home and opened up Vancouver Photo Studios (my new commercial space), our new dining table is now set up with all my computer equipment to allow me to work from home. I am not sure this is what my wife had in mind!
We have our isolation routine. I wake up at 7:30 and turn on the espresso machine. As it heats up, I take our new puppy, Chester, out for a walk. He has been a bright shining light for us while the world around us is in crisis. By the time we come back, the machine is heated up; I make us our coffee. Faye, my wife, works on her tea cup jigsaw puzzle (something we only ever do during getaways), while I read the daily updates on how humanity is dealing with this pandemic. Both of us then get into work mode to do whatever we can to get creative. How can we still do what we are passionate about? What can we create? How can we evolve and adapt to stay on top of the new reality we find ourselves in?
At this point, we can see that Chester is getting anxious being inside while we work away, so we take him out for a walk or try to find a park with few people in it so we can keep our social distance. I have a bright orange ball that I bought to throw for him but he prefers to chew on sticks. Chester loves playing and running with other dogs and I can tell that he really misses this. After trying to wear him out for a while, we come back home and it is about time for a glass of wine. In the past, we drank good wine within our budget, but we’re on to boxed wine; “Red Blend Portugal” is our wine of choice. Those who know me know that when I am not shooting photos or editing them, I am cooking. I love cooking. Only being able to go to the grocery store once a week has forced me to get very creative and I have come up with some new recipes.
All of a sudden, the day is done and I have no idea where it went. When I am used to waking up, going to my studio, shooting photos and editing all day feeling like I get a tonne of work done, our new reality has made the days start to feel like they are blending into one another. I often feel like I have accomplished nothing.
I became a portrait photographer because I wanted to be a story teller. Sometimes I get to tell the stories I want to tell, sometimes it is the story as planned by the client or brand, and sometimes the story is offered up on a plate to which all I do is press the shutter. We have a worldwide crisis on our hands and a lot people need their stories told. I believe that in moments like this we have a human responsibility to to ask ourselves what value we can add to make the world a better place and help people. On a professional level, the only way I know how to add value is through portrait photography. This is my opportunity to continue telling stories.
This is the beginning of my COVID-19 portrait project. I am starting by photographing people isolated in their homes, asking them to offer a message. I don’t know where this project will go and what it will evolve into, but this is where I am starting. I am shooting everything from outside with the responsible two metre minimum social distance. If you would like to be part of this journey, please send me an email to mail@brandon-hart.com or contact me on Instagram @brandonhartphotography. You don’t have to have any experience in front of the camera; I want to take photographs of people from all walks of life.
Brandon Hart Photography
This is Jessica:
This is Amelia:
This is Kennedy:
This is Scott:
This is Araceli:
This is Jennifer:
This is Mike:
This is Cory:
This is Emmie:
This is Destiny:
This is Chelsey:
This is Shannon and Gigi:
This is Annette, Greg, and Gwen:
This is Stacy:
This is Jami:
This is Faye:
This is Leah:
This is Ely:
This is Sarah and Daz:
This is Ashley:
