Raya's COVID-19 Photo Essay
Image 1 – “Social at a Distance”
I took this photo on the 20th of October 2020, from the balcony of my student accommodation, somewhere you’d assume it would be easy to make friends and meet new people in your first year of college. This is a photograph of my roommates socialising with some of our neighbours. Under usual circumstances, we would be able to visit each other’s apartments, meet at a party, or go for a drink (usually one of the main joys of getting to go to college), but because of Covid-19, this is really the only way to get to know each other in person, by screaming at each other awkwardly from our balconies. I feel that this photo shows just how caged up we are as students, how damaged the social aspect of college life is in 2020.
Image 2 – “6ft Apart”
This is a photo of my older brother Jai and his girlfriend Kayla, taken on Tramore beach on the 8th of November 2020. With this photograph, I wanted to represent the pods that we have had to create in our lives during this pandemic, and feelings of judgement that some may experience for not distancing in public. So even though they have created a pod together, not everyone knows that and may cast dirty looks their way. I asked them to sit 6 ft apart for this photo, and the first thing they said was “this feels so weird”. It is a weird time, and we have had to adopt unnatural customs. Humans are supposed to be near each other, but social distancing is a sacrifice that can prevent the virus from spreading, and possibly save lives.
Image 3 – “Stand & Sip”
This photograph was taken on the 9th of November 2020. It is of my favourite café in Tramore, Molly’s. Since Molly opened in 2019, this place has been a hub of energy, laughter, and endless chatting. In the photo, you can see that the deck is taped off because, under current guidelines, people aren’t supposed to gather and sit. Last year there would be people upstairs enjoying the sun, people on the deck socialising, and generally just people hanging around. But in 2020, people can’t sit and have a chat over a cup of coffee anymore, which I’m sure has had a knock-on effect on business (the longer people sit, the more coffee they drink!). Molly is such a bubbly person, she loves all her customers and often takes enjoyment from getting to talk to them all when she isn’t running around, but now because coffee is for takeaway only (under Covid-19 restrictions), her customers only get two minutes with her as she takes their order. In my opinion, Molly’s coffee is the best in Tramore and can be enjoyed anywhere, but hopefully, by next year, we’ll be able to sit and sip on the deck again.
Image 4 – “Counting Daisies”
I took this photo in my garden on the 16th of July 2020, when I came home from a long day at work. Due to Covid-19, We couldn’t really meet up with friends, there were no parties or barbeques on like there usually would be on a warm evening in July, and obviously, there was no hope of a post Leaving Cert. holiday. At that time of lockdown there were only a few pubs open in Tramore, and if you didn’t want to spend €9 on a meal in order to have a drink; there was nothing better to do than sit in the garden at home, counting daisies.
Image 5 – “Support Local”
This is a photograph of a small local pub in my hometown (Tramore) that I took on the 8th of November 2020. Because of the pub’s size, it has had to remain closed since March, since if people were to socially distance inside there would not be enough customers to make a profit. The effect of this has been felt close to home, as my uncle works there, and it is my grandad’s place of choice for his pint on a Sunday with his friends. Covid-19 has seriously impacted small, local businesses, some struggling to survive, and many like this pub: unable to re-open its doors.
Image 6 – “Back to Busking”
This photo is of my friend Conor Doyle, taken on the 8th of November 2020. Conor is a musician who would be playing gigs at this time of year under normal circumstances, but due to the pandemic, is limited in how he can showcase his talent. Conor’s debut single “The Beggar” is due to be released on November 13th, and where musicians would normally be able to promote their releases live, Conor has had to move online. I want this photograph to represent all the musicians and artists who have suffered at the hands of Covid-19, losing their artistic outlets, losing money, and perhaps losing their place in the world for now. I personally can’t wait until I can see Conor, and other musicians performing live again, with crowds galore.
Image 7 – “Screen Study”
As of this moment in time, this photograph I took on the 9th of November 2020 in my accommodation, represents my first year in college. To say it’s abnormal is just the start, Covid-19 has royally screwed it up. It’s difficult for both professors and students to engage, and it doesn’t help that we are paying the same fees to sit behind a computer screen and learn by ourselves. Unless we actively get out of the apartment, our lives are currently: get out of bed, sit at a desk, get back into bed. Even most weekends, it feels like the time we would have dedicated to a social life is now dedicated to catching up, so you don’t get overwhelmed. It’s just not the same college experience, to sit alone, behind a screen.
Image 8 – “Covid-19 Comedy”
This photograph was taken on my first night out with my friends since the first lockdown, on the 14th of August 2020. As a 19-year-old, going out with your friend on a summer evening is one of the things to look forward to, especially as this year was our last one together before splitting up for college. It was a relief to be going out again, it almost felt like a normal summer. This sign was posted in the bathroom of The Vic pub, one of my favourite pubs in Tramore, next to the sinks (a reminder to wash your hands I’m guessing). It’s a line from a video that went viral one year during a storm that hit Tramore pretty hard with flooding, so it felt almost like an inside joke between locals. I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw it, glad that people were both encouraging safety measures, but also having a little fun where they could. It made a great night even better.
I’m really happy with the way that these photographs turned out and feel as though they accurately represent both some of the noticeable characteristics and less noticeable characteristics of the pandemic. This assignment has allowed me to review the changes that Covid-19 has forced our society to make as a whole and personally; changes in signage, how we interact with each other and the world around us, and changes in general life. Not all of these changes are good, and not all are being well received by the public, but it has definitely been an interesting period of adaptation to watch and be able to capture. It was only in doing this assignment that I realised that I had actually been archiving photos for a reason, that I had actually subconsciously been noticing changes within my life. These photographs have been taken across a timeline of the pandemic, starting in July and finishing in November because I don’t know about others, but those first three months of April, May, and June are a blurred memory that I personally didn’t think to photograph, having bigger and better things to worry about at the time. While this global epidemic is sure to carry on for an unknown period of time, I hope that those who view this collection of photographs will be able to get a view of what my life has been like throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and are able to relate it to their own experiences of 2020 and enjoy this collection.