At the height of the pandemic earlier this year, we asked a handful of our favourite photographers to capture what was happening around them in lockdown. As many of us go back into a second lockdown, we’re revisiting these beautiful and varied photo essays. Click through on the image to see the full story.
Caleb Stein
25-year-old Caleb Stein shoots slow, precise and considered black-and-white documentary-style photography. He spent the first lockdown in London.
Lin Zhipeng (223)
Photographer Lin Zhipeng – known by his friends as 223 — had been in lockdown for a couple months when he submitted these images. Based in Beijing, he was home alone — mostly cooking and watching movies.
Cécile Smetana Baudier
There’s a poignant arc to the photo series by Danish photojournalist Cécile Smetana Baudier. With her earliest memories of taking photographs beginning at 12 or 13, shooting her baby twin brothers, to be back home and documenting their relationship 20 years on feels like a reset of sorts.
Roni Ahn
Roni Ahn has spent lockdown with her family in Hong Kong. She had returned to HK to reapply for her UK visa, but once the pandemic hit Europe and she found herself stuck there.
Ottilie Landmark
Originally from Denmark, but based in London, Ottilie Landmark said she’s used to working from home and found an unexpected freedom in the confides of the lockdown.
Rafael Pavarotti
Brazilian Photographer Rafael Pavarotti was in London when the lockdown was announced back in March, but eventually he chose to return home and find sanctuary in Brazil instead.
Lucas Creighton
Photographer Lucas Creighton left his place in New York for Oregon when the lockdown first began, to be with his family.
Alexandra Leese
Alexandra Leese spent lockdown at her home in London, and kept busy with small projects like "I Miss You IRL", presented as part of her Quarantine in Photos for i-D.
Omar Apollo
Musician Omar Apollo locked-down at his place in LA with his brother and best friend. Working on his debut album, he devoted most of it to writing, recording and producing new music.
Adraint Bereal
Recent graduate Adraint Bereal survived lockdown in Austin, Texas by reading James Baldwin, writing poetry, and filling his time with spontaneous art projects.
Frank Nesbitt
Having spent over eight years in LA, the experience of being in lockdown wasn’t a completely alien concept to artist Frank Nesbitt, because LA knows isolation very well.
Piczo
With his shoots cancelled due to the pandemic, London-based Japanese photographer Piczo kept busy by editing long-neglected personal projects and enjoying the free time his career doesn't often allow him.
Pablo Di Prima
Spending lockdown back home in Barcelona with his father and sister, Pablo Di Prima found a paradoxical freedom in the limits of self-isolation.
Sophia Wilson
Photographer Sophia Wilson spent the lockdown in New York City between her apartment on the Lower East Side and her mom's house in the East Village.
Jamie Morgan
Jamie Morgan spent lockdown in north London with his wife and seven-year-old son, describing the period as both a privilege — to be able to spend more time with his family — and “homeschooling hell”.
Cailin Hill Araki
Cailin Hill Araki self-isolated with her husband Dai along with their dogs and budgies in Japan.
Riccardo Raspa
Italian photographer Riccardo Raspa was living between friends’ apartments before the coronavirus struck London. For his submission, he shot his journey back to Italy on a repatriation flight.
Stanislaw Boniecki
Stanislaw Boniecki captured his lockdown from within his Williamsburg apartment, shooting everything from his groceries to his expecting wife.
Ethan Hart
Photographer Ethan Hart was never really one for self-portraiture prior to lockdown, preferring to focus on other people in his work, but the period offered an opportunity to focus his lens on himself.
Malick Bodian
Model and photographer Malick Bodian locked down Paris. All of his jobs were cancelled, but clients came up with new creative ideas for him to shoot at home.
Credits
All images courtesy the artists