'It has become our sanctuary': The calming power of nature in a pandemic
Pictures capture the solace that people are finding in the outdoors.
Topanga, California
"We've been walking the roads around our house," says photographer Ivan Kashinsky, "searching for places for our boys to let off some steam."
Photograph by Ivan Kashinsky
ByRachel Hartigan
Published April 9, 2020
• 15 min read
The COVID-19 pandemic may have shut down much of the human-controlled part of the world but, thankfully, nature hasn’t gotten the message. Birds still chirp, flowers burst into bloom, breezes sway the trees, and people drink in as much of the outdoors as their local rules allow. The streets are empty, but the parks—where they’re open—are crowded.
Photographers, largely confined to their homes like everyone else, capture this yearning for nature. In Kuala Lumpur, a photographer pines for the lush tropical life beyond his windowpane. In Topanga, California, a family saves their walks for dusk, when all the neighbors have gone inside. In Amman, Jordan, a photographer looks for solace in the sky; in Istanbul, another discovers it in the water. And a young boy in a Johannesburg township finds beauty in the wildflowers along a barbed wire fence.
The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has resulted in most Magnum photographers being restricted in their movements. As part of a broader photographer-led response, a new series “Diary of a Pandemic” will present selections of new work, while "Quarantine Conversations," will present Magnum photographers in frank and unedited dialogues about work, current affairs, and everything in-between. Follow Magnum Photos on Instagram.
