Ten years ago, Mike and I started traveling the world with this project called "For 91 Days". Since then, we haven't stayed in one place for more than four months... until 2020. Like everyone else in the world, we were suddenly stuck at home. It's been a difficult adjustment for two guys accustomed to a mobile lifestyle.
Going through my photo archives from last year, I have to admit that I went maybe a bit over the top documenting Valencia immediately after the strict Covid-19 lockdown measures were lifted.
I took a bunch of photographs immediately after Valencia, Spain, went into lockdown ... but I couldn't bring myself to publish them right away. To be honest, I could hardly look at them; this has been such a difficult and strange time, and I knew the emotional impact would be strong.
As soon as the lockdown began, I set out to photograph Valencia. I'd never seen the streets so devoid of people, and I may not have the opportunity to take pictures of an empty city ever again. One of the first spots I visited was the Plaza Redonda.
When we're back home in Valencia, I don't take nearly as many photos as when we're traveling. But still... I have to take some! Two months of confinement, due to the COVID-19 Virus, has challenged me to find new inspiration from a single physical location: our terrace. Every single day of the lockdown in Spain, people have opened the windows or stepped out onto their balconies at 8pm, to applaud the healthcare workers on the coronavirus frontlines.…
Spain has been on a strict lockdown since March 14th, because of the COVID-19 virus, with strict laws designed to keep people inside and to enforce social distancing. We knew it was serious when Valencia cancelled Fallas... but even then, we weren't expecting to endure seven full weeks of quarantine. Spain has been among the most-affected countries in the world. Since mid-March, we've been cooped up, allowed to go outside only for grocery shopping. Those trips became…
On March 10th, 2020, Fallas was cancelled, due to the CoVID-19 pandemic. This hadn't happened since the Spanish Civil War, and was something we barely considered plausible. I mean, the celebrations were already underway! In fact that plantà of the big figures had already begun! But now, it was all over. Valencia was in shock... as were we. That very day, we went to see the mascletà as usual, not having the slightest idea that it would…