In this photo series, I documented beach-goers during the first summer of the pandemic, in 2020.
After what seemed like an eternity being cooped up alone in my apartment, I decided to dust off my bicycle and ride up to a local beach with my camera, just outside of Boston.
From the moment I got there, I was surprised at how many people had also flocked to the long sandy beach. Were they craving the sun and sea air’s healing abilities as much as I was? It certainly seemed so.
There were big groups of families, friends and couples. And what struck me, was the amount of older folks basking in the sun, despite the grim statistics for this age group. I admired their courage and was encouraged to see that most of the sun seekers, young and old, were wearing masks despite the heat. Over a few summer weekends, I got to interact (from 6ft distance) with some of these beach-goers, and made some portraits of them. During this period, things were also heating up politically with the upcoming election, so I intentionally used some of the surrounding ephemera to add this layer to the visual narrative.
Looking back at the series now, it has already become somewhat of a time-capsule. A moment frozen in time, yet burned in my memory forever.
