America Reimagined: Pandemic in Paradise

BY American Reportage

AMERICA REIMAGINED

A Collaboration Between

Boyd's Station and

American Reportage​

Photographer's Journal

Pandemic in Paradise

Text and Photography by Shafkat Anowar

“It seems like this thing (Coronavirus) is bringing us together,” said Tavita Faumuina, a 25-year veteran bus operator in O’ahu, Hawaii.
 
He mentioned this when I was on assignment photographing essential workers for my college newspaper at the end of April. Despite focusing on all the negativity around me, I ended that day with a positive remark from him. I found that it motivated me to find bright moments in any story I cover, and realized that my photos could help me more intimately define the “new normal.”
 
At the end of March, Honolulu resembled a dead city. With the “stay-at-home” order, people weren’t socializing as much. The Hawaii we were seeing then was the opposite of what anyone could picture from an earlier time. No tourists were posing for a selfie; barely anyone sunbathed on the beach and, most importantly for us locals, there was no rush hour on the highways.
 
Intervening in an island lifestyle is different from other big cities. Any day on the beach or a hike to the mountains feels like being on holiday: this is the usual lifestyle in the Aloha State. So the sudden transition forced by the pandemic threw people into a whole level of confinement. Even though most of our freedom is still available, it is contained. There was a time when people were fined for trespassing to hikes and public parks. People are called out for not wearing masks. Thankfully, there are still plentiful food supplies.
 
As a student, my situation drastically changed when the university shifted everything online for the rest of the semester.

On one hand, I couldn’t find ways to cope with school, and another side, I was debating if I should put myself to risk by going out. Things started getting better in June, but surprisingly Hawaii has seen a recent spike in Covid-19 cases. 

The idea of “normalcy” has been radically altered and will likely continue until an unknown time. However, the new creative adaptations led communities within O‘ahu to be benign and resilient even during the pandemic.

More from the Project

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Delayed: Resilience in the Face COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic has delayed at least one facet of every person’s life.

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Dia de Los Muertos

Dia de los Muertos, celebrated each year October 31 through November 2, demonstrates the melding of European and Mesoamerican traditions that define contemporary Mexican culture.

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Aloha Santa

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A Day at the North Pole

David Schneider, 63, has been performing as Santa Claus for over 30 years. He would perform over 150-200 shows every year between November and December but this year he says it was about 15-20 shows.

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Life and Death in a COVID Ward

As COVID-19 cases and deaths around Ohio continue to rise, staff on the COVID ICU floor of Mount Carmel Grove City Hospital work tirelessly to save the lives of their patients.

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RV Learning

NEST, which stands for Nutrition, Education, Safety, and Transformation, is a non-profit community learning center based out of mobile RVs in Loveland, Ohio, where founder, Evangeline DeVol, and other volunteers work closely with families in low-income neighborhoods.

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Stone Mountain

This Town is Home to the Nation’s Largest Confederate Monument

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Parker's Pandemic Experience

As I live through the pandemic as a college student, I have found relief in documenting my 8-year-old little sister, Parker Ostronic’s, experience with the pandemic.

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Thanksgiving Food Distribution in Hawaii

 About 1,250 bento boxes were distributed on Thanksgiving Day by the Salvation Army to several low-income housing projects and senior facilities.

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The Villages: Dueling Golf Cart Rallies

Donald Trump is popular in The Villages. This is evident with the amount of people that arrived at Lake Miona Recreation Center to participate in the golf cart parade. There’s not an accurate number for the amount of people who attended the event on September 23rd, but the oversized parking lot was packed to the brim with golf carts. 

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Election 2020

America Reimagined photographers across the country documented the run-up to the historic 2020 elections during a year of social and political strife and Americans and the rest of the world coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Food Pantry Portraits

The Iron Gate is a kitchen and food pantry that serves people experiencing homelessness and the hungry in downtown Tulsa. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Iron Gate has changed to grab and go meals and seen their food pantry numbers increase by 40 percent.

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dies

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, died as a result of complications from metastatic cancer of the pancreas at her home in Washington, D.C., on September 18, 2020. She was 87.

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Lao Ministry Norwood Church Food Pantry

Every Tuesday and Friday from 10a.m. to noon, Lao Ministry Norwood Church opens their food pantry in St. Petersburg, Fla., to give food to people who need it.

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"Eyes Front, Mr Keating"

“Eyes front, Mr. Keating,” said every teacher to this fidgety, nosy and perpetually un-prepared student. The point being made was that there was something of some level of importance being made at the front of the classroom and we should all pay attention.

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Pandemic Wedding

Half a year ago, Lauren and Romeo of Dayton, OH, were intent on saving up for a big wedding of over 400 people.

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Eid-ul-Adha Sacrifice

Muslims in Hawaii celebrate Eid-ul-Adha by sacrificing cattle in the rural countryside – something that is unusual to find in Hawaii’s landscape. While this is a common ritual to find in a Muslim country on the Islamic holiday, it’s unusual in an isolated state like Hawaii. 

Photographer's Journal

Maryland's Watermen

This summer I had the opportunity to intern at the Chesapeake Bay Program as their multimedia intern. I was asked to produce a long term project over the summer on any topic, and immediately, watermen came to mind.

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Generations Living Together in a Pandemic

This multigenerational family had been living together for years. Tara and her children have been living with their mother at their grandparents house on and off for their entire lives. 

Life before Covid-19

Rough Seas Ahead

Both lobstermen and fishermen are faced with climate change, slowly rebounding marine life populations, strict government regulation, constantly fluctuating domestic and international markets, and now reality of a global pandemic.

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COVID-19 and the Carpool Cinema

With many summer commitments scheduled at Rivers of Steel being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rivers of Steel, has begun hosting drive-in movie experiences that could abide by the state’s current health guidelines.

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Minneapolis Protests

Brooklynn Kascel investigates the psychological and sociological impacts felt in the communities that make up the Twin Cities following the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

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Pandemic in Paradise

At the end of March, Honolulu resembled a dead city. With the “stay-at-home” order, people weren’t socializing as much. The Hawaii we were seeing then was the opposite of what anyone could picture from an earlier time.

ESSAY

Anchor Bar & Grill

The unsinkable Anchor Grill has re-opened in Covington, Ky., following closure in mid-March due to the state’s Covid-19 restrictions. Proud to call themselves a “dive,” and featuring an iconic neon sign that says “We May Doze But Never Close,” the eatery has remained open since 1946.

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Cling-Wrap

This project chronicles Margo Reed’s view of the COVID-19 pandemic through a cling-wrapped camera lens.

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Reflections

Reflections of the pandemic as seen by America Reimagined photographers.

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The Aftermath

Rod Lamkey Jr. writes about this impressions covering the aftermath of the forced removal of protesters near the White House on June 1, 2020.

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Serving Through a Pandemic

Mike Simons covered the effects of thee Covid-19 Pandemic at the Iron Gate, largest stand-alone soup kitchen and grocery pantry in Tulsa.

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Automobile Sanctuary

In the Covid-19 era, the vehicle has been elevated to a place of sanctuary, a vessel trusted to deliver security outside the home in insecure times.

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Portraits in Quarantine

Portraits during the pandemic as photographed by America Reimagined photographers.

SPONSOR

The work done by American Reportage and Boyd’s Station would not be possible without the generous support from PhotoShelter, the official provider of both organization’s archive systems – powered PhotoShelter for Brands.

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AMERICA REIMAGINED

PROJECT CURATORS

Charlie Borst

Stephen Crowley

Cathaleen Curtiss

Nikki Kahn

Michael Keating

Molly Roberts