2020 - 2021 Images of a Pandemic Diary

Scroll down to see a selection of images.

Fig. 1 Irish Fortune teller doing business just before the first lockdown.

Fig. 1 Irish Fortune teller doing business
just before the first lockdown.

These photographs were taken in the weeks before the pandemic from February 2020 through until the middle of 2022.

In the year before the pandemic in 2019 I was experimenting with various mini compact cameras. I wanted a no fuss way of documenting everyday life. I wanted to use these tiny cameras as form of visual diary. They were light and easy to carry in a pocket anywhere I went. I found these mini compact cameras to be more discrete than any other photographic devices. Few people use these cameras, which are at least twenty five years old. They are considered by people to be toys rather than serious cameras.

I used black and white 35mm film which seemed to get to the heart of what attracted me to photograph a scene without the distraction of colour. Using black and white film also allowed me to take photos under diverse artificial and natural light conditions. As the pandemic began I also wished to be able to take discrete photos under bad lighting conditions. I wanted to be able to point and shoot discreetly without fuss. To achieve this, I began using faster film from 800iso up to 3200iso. Under the worst lighting conditions, I could still get an image. I also liked the distressed grainy effect of the prints produced which had a sense of urgency and anxiety that embodied my feelings as I went about my business during the early months of the pandemic. I took photos most days during this time. Images of empty supermarket shelves, of empty abandoned streets, crowds of people wearing face masks, notices to socially distance and many others. Each day I went into the city with my face mask and mini compact camera felt like a confrontation with the unseen and unknown Covid 19 virus. These grainy distressed film images with their limited visibility and rough look were the result.

Chris Reid 29.10.22

 

Click on images to enlarge

Fig. 2 February 28th 2020, the first person to be found with Covid 19 comes into Ireland Through Dublin Airport.

Fig. 2 February 28th 2020, the first person to be found with Covid 19 comes into Ireland Through Dublin Airport.

 

Fig. 3 As I read the headline I wondered how many other infected people were already in the country. I was going to the cinema that evening was I taking a risk?

Fig. 3 As I read the headline I wondered how many other infected people were already in the country. I was going to the cinema that evening was I taking a risk?

 

Fig. 4 On March 12th 2020 all educational institutions close and the first Lockdown began. I go to the supermarket to do some shopping; there is no bread.

Fig. 4 On March 12th 2020 all educational institutions
close and the first Lockdown began. I go to the
supermarket to do some shopping; there is no bread.

Fig. 5 There were no vegetables, no toilet paper, no paracetamol, no sanitiser either.

Fig. 5 There were no vegetables, no toilet paper,
no paracetamol, no sanitiser either.

Fig. 6 People were panic buying.

Fig. 6 People were panic buying.

 

Fig. 7 Many of the aisles were empty.

 

Fig. 8 The supermarket was all but abandoned an hour before it closed.

Fig. 8 The supermarket was all but abandoned an hour before it closed.

 

Fig. 9 On the day before St. Patricks day 2020 I needed to buy a new phone. I went to Henry street to look for one. The streets are half empty however there are groups of missionaries standing along the street, offering comfort and selling Jesus, doing good business, it seemed, from people anxious about Covid.

Fig. 9 On the day before St. Patricks day 2020 I needed to buy a new phone. I went to Henry street to look for one. The streets are half empty however there are groups of missionaries standing along the street, offering comfort and selling Jesus, doing good business, it seemed, from people anxious about Covid.

 

Fig. 10 Wicklow Street, Dublin. Usually a busy street with many restaurants and shops is abandoned at mid-day except for one solitary, masked human. April 2020.

Fig. 10 Wicklow Street, Dublin. Usually a busy street with many restaurants and shops is abandoned at mid-day except for one solitary, masked human. April 2020.

 

Fig. 11 It became a requirement to wear face masks in shops.

Fig. 11 It became a requirement to wear face masks in shops.

 

Fig. 12 A lone diner on South William Street, March 2020. Personally, I stopped eating out or even buying a cup a coffee in March 2020. Instead I prepared all my food and drinks at home. I began eating out again in June 2022.

Fig. 12 A lone diner on South William Street, March 2020. Personally, I stopped eating out or even buying a cup a coffee in March 2020. Instead I prepared all my food and drinks at home. I began eating out again in June 2022.

 



Fig. 13 It took ages for people to start wearing face masks consistently. This was a rare sight until Christmas 2020.

Fig. 13 It took ages for people to start wearing face masks consistently. This was a rare sight until Christmas 2020.

 

Fig. 14 At a certain point, maybe mid to end of March 2020, the city centre emptied out except it seemed for homeless people.

Fig. 14 At a certain point, maybe mid to end of March 2020, the city centre emptied out except it seemed for homeless people.

 

Fig. 15 O’Connell Street, Dublin at p.m. The only life on O'Connell Street. A support station for homeless people outside the GPO. March 2020.

Fig. 15 O'Connell Street, Dublin at p.m. The only life on O'Connell Street.
A support station for homeless people outside the GPO. March 2020.

 

Fig. 16 Eccles Street, Dublin. December 2020.

Fig. 16 Eccles Street, Dublin. December 2020.

 

Fig. 17 Two men riding horses on the quiet lock-down streets in Cabra, Dublin. April 2021.

Fig. 17 Two men riding horses on the quiet lock-down streets in Cabra, Dublin. April 2021.

 

Fig. 18 The last weekend of February was the last time that I visited my mother in Swords, County Dublin. The bus was full on the way out, I found I had suddenly become sensitive to sounds of coughing or sneezing – could that be the virus? I remember speaking to my mother before we sat down to watch television, ‘I may not be able to visit for a while. But you will be safe here in the house and garden. It will probably be over in a few weeks. I did not visit again for over six months. Instead of taking the bus I cycled out.

Fig. 18 The last weekend of February was the last time that I visited my mother in Swords, County Dublin. The bus was full on the way out, I found I had suddenly become sensitive to sounds of coughing or sneezing – could that be the virus? I remember speaking to my mother before we sat down to watch television, 'I may not be able to visit for a while. But you will be safe here in the house and garden. It will probably be over in a few weeks. I did not visit again for over six months. Instead of taking the bus I cycled out.

 

Fig. 19 A group of women wearing face masks walk up a deserted Grafton, January 2021.

Fig. 19 A group of women wearing face masks walk up a deserted Grafton, January 2021.

 

Fig. 20 A solitary man walks past tents occupied by homeless people on the otherwise deserted space outside the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin 2 during the Pandemic in December 2020

Fig. 20 A solitary man walks past tents occupied by homeless people on the otherwise deserted space outside the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin 2 during the Pandemic in December 2020

 

Fig. 21 Pedestrians passing the G.P.O. O'Connell Street; Dublin 1 during the Covid pandemic. March 2021

Fig. 21 Pedestrians passing the G.P.O. O'Connell Street; Dublin 1 during the Covid pandemic. March 2021

 

Fig. 22 Debenhams closes leaving many unemployed, Homeless people camp under the overhang at its entrance and frontage. June 2020.

Fig. 22 Debenhams closes leaving many unemployed, Homeless people camp under the overhang at its entrance and frontage. June 2020.

 

Fig. 23 Large gangs of children take to cycling wildly around the city.

Fig. 23 Large gangs of children take to cycling wildly around the city.

 

Fig. 24 Homeless people camp out in tents outside the closed front of Lifestyle Sports shops

Fig. 24 Homeless people camp out in tents outside the closed front of Lifestyle Sports shops

 

Fig. 25 Gangs of feral Children ride bikes wildly on Henry Street.

Fig. 25 Gangs of feral Children ride bikes wildly on Henry Street.

 

Fig. 26 A group of young people, possibly English language students. walk the empty streets during the pandemic

Fig. 26 A group of young people, possibly English language students. walk the empty streets during the pandemic

 

Fig. 27 A couple out walking in St. Stephen's Green during the Pandemic, March 2021

Fig. 27 A couple out walking in St. Stephen's Green during the Pandemic, March 2021