The Moments We Won’t Forget: Social Distancing & The Photographers Documenting COVID-19

Every Friday we share images that make us take a pause when scrolling through our Instagram feeds. Affectionately known as Friday Inspiration, the “inspiration” part of that felt a bit out of touch in the wake of the COVID-19 spread, so we’ve decided to do things a little differently this week.

Like most people on the globe, we’ve been keeping a close eye on how border closures, mandated quarantines and social distancing are affecting everyone. Importantly, we know the photo community is being impacted by this disproportionately and we’re doing what we can to make sure everyone is feeling connected and getting the resources they need. With job cancellations and a lot of uncertainty in the air, it’s also crucial we keep an eye on how this pandemic is being documented by fellow photographers.

Photography, at its core, is a historical tool we can use to tell the story of this moment — however unprecedented it may be.

Doug Strickland

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New York Times reporter Jack Nicas’s story about Matt Colvin, a Hixson, Tennessee man who bought out bulk supplies of hand sanitizer, cleaning wipes and protective masks from stores to resell on Amazon, struck a nerve when it published yesterday. The now-viral story details how Colvin and his brother bought 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer from both local and rural retailers in Tennessee and Kentucky, which he then listed on Amazon for between $8 and $70 each. Eventually, Amazon and Ebay cracked down on price gouging sellers, and Colvin was left sitting on a garage and storage locker full of products that many are desperately seeking as the country tries to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. Since the story ran, Colvin has received death threats, said that he now intends to donate the goods rather than sell them, and become the subject of an investigation by the Tennessee attorney general. Thanks so much to @acelii for trusting me with this important assignment.

A post shared by Doug Strickland (@doug.strickland) on Mar 15, 2020 at 7:14am PDT

Chip Somodevilla

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Due to the #coronavirus threat, the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., is exercising #socialdistancing by keeping reporters’ chairs four feet apart during news briefings. In this photograph on March 13, Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, talks to journalists about the military response to rocket attacks that killed two U.S. and one U.K. service members in Iraq. What is social distancing? Read about how to best practice it at the link in bio. Photograph by Chip Somodevilla (@somophoto)—@gettyimages

A post shared by TIME (@time) on Mar 13, 2020 at 10:57am PDT

Sarah Phouthaboun

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Quarantine : Day 2 – We played with marbles after our school work! They spent a good hour playing with these so I’ll take it as a huge win! #covid19photoaday . . . Emmett’s school is still open, but we decided it was best for him to stay home with us. I know it’s so crazy to think that something like going to school would be so risky, but that unfortunately is what we are all living in. Please stay home if you can. If you can’t, please take the proper precautions to keep you and those around you safe ♥️

A post shared by Sarah Phouthaboun (@sarahphouthaboun) on Mar 17, 2020 at 11:22am PDT

Victor Llorente

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Deep cleaning of the NYSE for @nytimes @acelii

A post shared by Victor Llorente (@victor.llorente) on Mar 17, 2020 at 8:12am PDT

Christopher Morris

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A real fixation on products. Our new reality. Target Photo by Christopher Morris ©2020 @viiphoto #viiphoto #emptyshelves #corona

A post shared by Christopher Morris (@christopher_vii) on Mar 17, 2020 at 8:27am PDT

Jabin Botsford

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A close up of President Donald J. Trump’s notes are seen where the word “Corona” was replaced with “Chinese” Virus as he speaks with his coronavirus task force in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic during a briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Thursday, March 19, 2020 in Washington, DC.

A post shared by Jabin Botsford (@jabinbotsford) on Mar 19, 2020 at 11:09am PDT

Ciro Gutierrez

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Kid getting fun with mask and gloves in the subway during the the coronavirus outbreak. #coronavirus #corona #nyc #newyork #newyorkcity #newyork_ig #ny #nycphotographer #nycphotography #streetphotography #street #streetstyle #streetclassics #pic #picoftheday #picture #puctureoftheday #photooftheday #photo #documentary #documentaryphotography #documentyourdays #photojournalism #photojournalists #virus #facemask #journalism #nycjournalist #kid #subway

A post shared by Ciro Gutierrez (@ciroinfocus) on Mar 20, 2020 at 7:48am PDT

Seeing other photos on your Instagram feed that should be added to this list? Link them below!