Portraits of Pandemic - portrait photographer

Since the start of the pandemic I have been privileged to volunteer for Age UK Croydon, packing and delivering emergency food and essentials for elderly people. Each visit dented my heart....knowing that I was the only communication for some people, for days or even weeks, made me emotional every time.
One of them was the lovely Constantine who lives with her son who had special needs. They both had to shield so she asked the charity for basic groceries like eggs butter milk and because we only relied on donations we couldn't provide all this so I bought missing items in the shop.

Portraits taken In celebration of VE Day, May 2020

Harry, 88 celebrating 63 years of marriage with his wife Cecilia

Rachel & Ethan, July 2020

As a mother of 3 kids my thoughts were all the time with the mothers that went through pregnancy and the miracle of giving birth during a pandemic. By taking these portraits I wanted to mark the courage and resilience of women and their partners that were denied the usual support in this magical time.

read Rachel story on my instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMaoKLEHnTV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Pauline Edwards, South Norwood

Beryl Reene with her five kids, Addiscombe

In celebration of VE Day I have been asked to photograph lovely Joyce

interview with Joyce, by Abigail (CVA Volunteer)

As a teenager during the war Joyce wanted to volunteer for the Land Army, but her parents were very strict, so Joyce signed up in secret. Joyce’s parents were dumbfounded when Joyce then received her papers!

Joyce remembers the Land Army as being a good education, and a lot of fun. On Joyce’s first day she learned how to milk a cow by hand. First of all, Joyce had to wash the cow down, and pick dirt out of its hoof. Joyce was told not to let the cow move when milking, but this was difficult - the cow moved and Joyce got drenched with milk!

However, Joyce and the cow came to an understanding and when Joyce had finished milking, the cow swished its tail around as if to say thank you. Joyce learnt many things in the Land Army – including how to dig and how to thatch.

Joyce remembers VE Day fondly. There was dancing and singing in the street – she describes it as being a lovely feeling, beautiful and like being in a dream. Everybody was marvellous to one another.

In celebration of VE Day, Age Uk Croydon has asked me to photograph Gerald.

Gerald worked as a performer during the war years helping his impresario father to stage productions designed to entertain and delight the beleaguered residents of East London.

After V.E. day these productions continued - “People thought life was going to go back to normal after the war but it didn’t. It forced people to examine what they were doing with their lives and say ‘What am I going to do now?’”

They still needed cheering up, and Gerald wasn’t going to let them down! Together with Anthony Newley no less Gerald took to the stage in London’s glittering West End entertaining hundreds of Londoners every night.

Would Gerald have envisaged himself being on the stage if WW2 hadn’t happened? Probably not. After the war “People were forced down certain channels…you had to take opportunities where they presented themselves and say do I grab them or not?”

We asked Gerald what his biggest piece of advice would be to me during this current crisis.

“Adapt,” he says, “And you haven’t lost your creative outlet – it is lying dormant.”

interview by Mark Collier

my siste-in-law Phoebe and her daughters Lyla and Nola.

During lock down I kept myself busy by taking portraits of my own family to capture the feelings and thoughts they had about this strange time. All 3 of them have their own memories from the lock down. I am curious to ask in few years whet they remember the most from this time.

Phoebe

I met Thaíse with her tiny newborn baby, Zaya, at the last Clap For The NHS in my neighbourhood. I had been thinking a lot about mothers that are having to give birth during the pandemic, so I asked her if we could discuss her experience. Thaise, originally from Brazil, agreed for me to visit the following day to take a lock down portrait and to tell me her story.

full story - https://www.instagram.com/p/CCG6FscnM__/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Kate (21) founder of People protect @people_project_

Instagram platform for Homeless people to tell their stories

Hannah, my siste-in-law , June 2020

Ania and her baby Emma, June 2020

Michail King with his beloved horse, Croydon, March 2021

Joanna and Samuel, January 2021, Wokingham

my daughter Lena, age 10

Urszula Soltys