Jim Barker started his photography business in October, 2019. Then the pandemic hit.
"Everything kind of fell off the grid in March," he tells ABC RN's Life Matters.
So he put out a call on social media, asking if people wanted their portraits taken at their front door.
The resulting series, called Doortraits ("I'm a big fan of the portmanteau," Barker says), consists of dozens of photographs of Sydneysiders in front of their homes.
"It was a really good chance for us to take the temperature, almost, of everyone at this point in time," Barker says.
"I think there was a lot of confusion and fear getting around at that time, and the project itself was a nice way to put the dipstick in and just see how people around us were feeling."
Not everyone was doing great. The series includes many people whose work lives were affected by the pandemic shutdowns.
Paul, a pilot, lost his job at Qantas. Novak, a musician, had all of his gigs cancelled. Krissy, a music booker, was laid off from her job.
Family portraits capture pressures of living together
Barker wanted to include a family portrait in the series, so he approached his cousin Karina and her husband Will, who lived in Wahroonga in Sydney's Upper North Shore.
He says they had just started home learning with their kids at the time the photo was taken, and were finding it difficult.
"Having three kids under the age of eight I think it is was obviously quite full-on to start with," Barker says.
"And then chucking in the home education was just a cherry on top."
On the day the portrait was taken, the youngest broke all social distancing rules by running out to greet Barker with a hug — but the eldest didn't want to be part of the photo at all.
You can just see her in the final image, tucked away in the corner concentrating on her colouring in.
For families with younger children, the pressures were different. Mother-of-two Vyvyan, who works in social media, told Barker life hadn't changed much except for the increased mental load and difficulty finding toilet paper.
Couple Edmond and Tess had their second child the week Australians began self-isolating.
"We're glad it was the second kid that we had under these circumstances," they told Barker. "It would've been a lot harder if it was our first time around."
Some families had been unexpectedly thrown together by Australia's coronavirus response. Chevy was living with her mother, who couldn't return home to Britain.
The pandemic was also keeping people apart. Jules had just started seeing her new girlfriend, and they'd been dating over video chat.
"I'm sure having a little bit more contact would have been nice but [they are] making the best out of a bad situation, which is always good to see," Barker says.
Subjects' clothes have meaning
By the time Barker was halfway through the project, he was looking to do something a bit different — so he photographed his friend Kitty in "full burlesque get-up".
"She made it into the New South Wales state finals for the burlesque dancing competition this year," Barker says.
"That obviously couldn't go ahead because of the restrictions."
Kitty's photo contrasts strongly with that of publicist Lea, who wore a towel on her head, moisturising facemask and tracksuit.
"She knew exactly what she was going to wear before she even got in front of the camera," Barker says.
"That's 100 per cent how she gets around the house too."
Meanwhile, fellow photographer Yaya posed for her portrait wearing her hat — simply because she didn't get to wear it as much as she used to.
Funds raised for Lifeline
Barker says the project wasn't just about taking photos — it was also about checking in with people, "having a chat and being open about how we are all feeling at this time".
It was for this reason that friend of his put him in touch with Lifeline, with the idea of making it a fundraiser for the service.
"Mental health has always been a massive part of my life, something that I'm very passionate about communicating to people, so it was an absolute no-brainer," Barker says.
"In the end we were able to raise about $4,000 or $5,000 for Lifeline through a digital exhibition of the work."
Barker says most people in Sydney are "ready for it to all go back to normal".
"People are still on edge, in a way, getting about life as best they can still," the photographer says.
"There's always that spectre looming of another shutdown if things go wrong. And now we are heading into Christmas, I think the stakes are getting raised with every new week."
It's true that 2020 hasn't worked out the way that anyone had planned. When he started his business, Barker hadn't expected his first photography exhibition to be in an online gallery.
"I think it ended up working out pretty well for me though," he says.
"I'm just going to run with it."
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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMib2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTEwLTE3L2Rvb3J0cmFpdHMtY29yb25hdmlydXMtcGFuZGVtaWMtcGhvdG9zLXJhaXNlLWZ1bmRzLWZvci1saWZlbGluZS8xMjc2Nzk3NNIBJ2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMjc2Nzk3NA?oc=5
2020-10-16 20:00:00Z
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