MASTERING PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE TIME OF COVID-19
SPRING 2020 JMC 321 AUBG
This is a mini-album of phtographs taken during COVID-19 by the students of the JMC321 Digital Photojournalism class at the American University in Bulgaria(AUBG). In the times of the pandemic, students, whose works are presented in the photobook, had to leave behind their regular student life and follow the quarantine regime. Despite the circumstances, they came up with an idea to express their vision of the situtaion from both inside and outside worlds and present it in one photo-album. All the photomaterials are shot and edited by the students themselves under the supervision of their class professor - Jodi Hilton.
The works presented: Nikol Skortcheva Alicia Perez Bernandos Rowena Djengozov Svetlozar Apostolov Snezhana Boyadzhieva Vera Arzumanyan Javier Jennings Mozo Yenlik O’Neill Marian Judith Lopez Camarasa Van Vo Silvia Skenderova Mina Zivotin Milostina Krasteva
06-11 12-17 18-23 24-29 30-35 36-41 42-47 48-53 54-59 60-65 66-71 72-77 78-83
Nikol Skortcheva
Nikol is Journalism and Buisness student in The American University in Bulgaria(AUBG). As everyone else, she is trying to find the best in every situation. When she was taking a walk in the centre of Sofia she found herself just staring at the amazing city. And at that moment, she knew she had to show it to everyone else.
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The empty streets of the city centre. April 13, 2020. Sofia, Bulgaria.
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The Sveti Nevski Cathedral in spring. During the pandemic, nobody is walking around in one of the busiest places in Sofia. April 13, 2020. Sofia, Bulgaria.
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The national Library St Kirlil and Metodi that is temporaly closed down due to the pandemic. April 13, 2020. Sofia, Bulgaria.
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The centre of the capital is blossoming like never before. April 13, 2020. Sofia, Bulgaria.
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The famous and beautiful Russan Church again i the heart of Sofia. The only place where you can secretly see people walking in and out. April 13, 2020. Sofia, Bulgaria.
Alicia Perez Bernandos
Alicia is a 20 year old journalism student from Madrid, Spain. She wants to specialize in sports journalism and improve her camera skills so she can be able to capture the decisive moments in a match.
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Kaufland security guy waiting for the woman to take her shopping so he can desinfect the cart. April 13, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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Magazines talking about COVID-19. April 16, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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A woman wearing a mask leaving AUBG campus with a Billa bag. April 16, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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Some buildings and the cross behind them. March 28, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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Female mannequin wearing a mask. April 16, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
Rowena Djengozov
Rowena is a 20-year-old from Papua New Guinea and Bulgaria, currently studying at AUBG as Junior majoring in Journalism and Mass Communications. She prefers capturing moments with my iPhone XS, as a more convenient and flexible way to photograph in public places.
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Elizabeth Djengozov grabbing toilet paper, also known to be the product for the public to panic buy during the coronavirus. March 29, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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The tape on the floor in Lidl is placed for customers to practice social distancing at the counter before getting served. April 15, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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Stocked shelves and empty aisles in Kaufland due to limiting the entry of customers into the shop. April 2, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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Vanna Djengozov, waiting for a taxi at Kaufland with a few days worth of purchased groceries. April 2, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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Customers in Lidl seen with masks and gloves rushing in aisles to do their grocery shopping. April 15, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
Svetlozar Apostolov
Svetlozar says that being a hobbyist street photographer he has always been drawn towards what’s happening in the urban environment and aesthetics. Being stuck in Blagoevgrad, he took it upon himself to see what’s the difference in the centre of the city and his neighbourhood. Living close to the Roma neighbourhood gave him the opportunity to see the contrast of how people perceived the pandemic.
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A man sitting on a rock and the graffiti behind him spells out “unhappy� March 17, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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A man with a few kids pushing a cart with an interesting load. March 17, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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State of emergency didn’t stop people to drink beer and play cards April 11, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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Neighbours chatting from the safety of their balcony. April 11, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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People maintained social distance in the centre March 28, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
Snezhana Boyadzhieva
Snezhana is a Senior JMC student, hoping to soon graduate. She enjoys observing people and finding the absurdities in our daily existence.
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A man from Blagoevgrad waves his hat at me during the first few days of the lockdown. He smiled and told me we Bulgarians have gone through worse. March 17, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria
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Right before a ban on travelling between big cities, I came back to Sofia. This was a woman on the street hiding herself from the snowy weather. April 1, 2020. Sofia, Bulgaria.
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Although the country was still on lockdown, the first days of warm Spring weather made everyone go out on the streets. Here are two women I passed on a busy Sofia boulevard, where most people were keeping their distance, nonetheless. April 7, 2020. Sofia Bulgaria.
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A shop assistant in a bio food store in Sofia. Despite her colorful attire, she seemed tired behind the counter. April 7, 2020. Sofia, Bulgaria.
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First day of slowly removing restrictions on walking in the parks and allowing only people who train or mother with little children. This is the garden outside the Sofia Public Mineral Bath, where some people are dismissing social distancing measures altogether. April 27, 2020. Sofia, Bulgaria.
Vera Arzumanyan
Vera is a sophomore student studying Journalism and Mass Communication at the American University in Bulgaria. Since it turned out that all of us would be locked inside our homes, she thought this project is a golden opportunity to capture her restlessness to find something useful to do within the margins of her home.
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The glimpse into the backyard of one of our neighbors. The warm and fresh morning reminded me that spring has already arrived. April 25, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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Afternoon. My mother and I are headed to the grocery store. March 29, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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Since now home is the place where I have been spending all of my time, I turned to my hobbies, which included guitar playing. April 17, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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My father going around the store with a safety mask on, as a person walks in. Due to the Covid – 19 outbreak, my father and his coworkers take online orders only. Rarely will you see a customer entering the store. April 3, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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Seeing this beer, I realized how for the next couple of months it will politely remind me of the current chaos. March 29, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
Javier Jennings Mozo
Javier is a senior Erasmus JMC student from Spain. He says that this project gave him the opportunity to showcase the importance of essential workers at the American University in Bulgaria during the times of this pandemic.
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Maria Kirova Tielva has worked as a cook in AUBG for 25 years. April 14, 2020. AUBG, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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Kiril Kocharkov works as a security guard at the Balkanski Academic Center, one of AUBG’s educational buildings. He is taking special precautions these days April 13, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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Maria prepares one of the orders of the day. April 14, 2020. AUBG, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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The pandemic has forced the university to close the canteen but the kitchen is still working. Students now have to order food from it to be delivered at their residence halls. April 14, 2020. AUBG, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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Maria Samarova works at the University’s cafe. She doesn’t have many clients lately due to the few numbers of students that remain on campus. April 6, 2020. AUBG, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria
Yenlik O’Neill
Yenlik is a second year student studying Journalism and Mass Communications at the Amercian University in Bulgaria (AUBG). For her, this photo-project as a unique opportunity to share with the world her vision of the COVID-19 situation in Kazakhstan.
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A picturesque view to the Alatau mountains from the Esentai river. Thanks to the strict measures taken during the quarantine, the level of air pollution in the Almaty city has dropped. April 5, 2020. Almaty, Kazakhtan.
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Supermarket customers reading the product packages to make sure that the food from the shelves has not expired yet. April 5, 2020. Almaty, Kazakhstan.
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Tenants of the roped-off house getting a breath of fresh air during the isolation period. March 23, 2020. Almaty, Kazakhstan.
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A man on his way back home from a grocery store. April 9, 2020. Almaty, Kazakhstan.
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A view from the inside. April 9, 2020. Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Marian Judith Lopez Camarasa
Marian is a 21-year old journalism student from Spain. She is studying her third year at the American University in Bulgaria(AUBG) as an Erasmus student. Marian is interested in investigative and sports reporting and she has experience in radio and magazines.
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A man putting fruit boxes into the car. April 11, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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A child wearing his mask on the street. April 9, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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Line of taxis. April 14, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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A cat in an old square. April 16, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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An old woman getting some air on her home’s roof. April 16, 2020. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
Van Vo
Van Vo is a sophomore from American University in Bulgaria. This project shows the daily life of Ly Vo, a Vietnamese middle schooler, during the national social distancing period due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Ly’s student card and red scarf, must-have things to enter her schools, has been hanged along with the bronze medals she got last year with her basketball team since Lunar New Year. She has not had a chance to go to school or practice since then due to the pandemic situation. April 26, 2020. Hanoi, Vietnam
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Ly is having her breakfast while going through her morning classes. Classes here start early. She used to have small breakfast between classes. Now she can have a grand one while listening to her teachers. April 26, 2020. Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Ly is finishing her art final while being at home. This time the teacher’s designated theme is COVID-19 pandemic. April 27, 2020. Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Ly is practicing piano. She gave up on it a long time ago as she preferred to spend her time on dancing and basketball. Somehow it managed to fuse into her schedule again because of the quarantine. April 27, 2020 Hanoi, Vietnam
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Ly and her mom are preparing the food for the night. All members in the family gather up for dinner in celebration of the National Unification Holiday as the social distancing measure was loosened up just some days ago. It has been a long time since they have a chance to be together because of the pandemic. April 30, 2020 Hanoi, Vietnam
Silvia Skenderova
Silvia is a senior at the American University in Bulgaria. She has decided to shoot the life of her grandparents, in the village that they live – Ablanica, during the Coronavirus pandemic because it brings her so much happiness to see them still being positive and making the best out of the whole situation.
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My grandfather - Biser spending time working in his garden during the Quarantine. April 11, 2020. Ablanica, Bulgaria.
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My grandfather - Biser spending time working in his garden during the Quarantine. April 11, 2020. Ablanica, Bulgaria.
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My grandmother – Silvia making bows during quarantine to keep her distracted and to earn extra income for the family. April 6, 2020. Ablanica, Bulgaria.
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My grandfather’s brother and his wife working in their garden and practicing social distance from my grandparents. April 11, 2020. Ablanica, Bulgaria.
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“It is super hard, she annoys me every day with her bossy attitude but I can’t imagine a day without her annoying me.” – My grandfather on the life during quarantine with my grandmother. April 11, 2020. Ablanica, Bulgaria.
Mina Zivotin
Mina is a graduating senior at the American University in Bulgaria (AUBG). Due to the pandemic of Covid-19 virus, she was forced to return home, to Leskovac, Serbia from campus in Bulgaria. She is now finishing my studies online, from her bedroom. Thus far, Mina’s parents and she herself have been inseparable for exactly 50 days. They have not spent this much time together, in total, over the past four years, as she was away at college. They are all happy to spend this time together, and be able to be there for each other during these challenging times for all. This is a short photo series of their time together in quarantine and self-isolation.
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Milan, my father, is an infectious disease specialist, who works in the pharmaceutical field. He has just learned that his colleagues, friends, interns, mentors from the infectious disease department at the hospital most got infected and are patients now. April 5, 2020. Leskovac, Serbia
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Gordana, my mother, learned to channel her frustrations by engaging in cleaning sprees. The more she gets frustrated, the more she cleans. Recently she even took the couch out on the balcony to dust it off. April 5, 2020. Leskovac, Serbia
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Due to the quarantine restrictions, our dear friend, Goran, came by once a week to restock us on supplies and to make sure we have all we need. April 9, 2020. Leskovac, Serbia
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Hairdressers and barbers are closed, so my mother has decided to try a new profession. She is quarantine approved. April 16, 2020. Leskovac, Serbia
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My parents, sitting at the balcony of our house. During this pandemic, they went from panic and extreme stress to a calm, happy stage where we are learning to appreciate life again. May 2, 2020. Leskovac, Serbia
Milostina Krasteva
Milostina is a senior at the American University in Bulgaria. She studies Journalism, Mass Communications, and Business. One thing she can’t get enough of is spending time with friends. Whether quiet conversations over a cup of tea, music gigs, or grabbing food, she loves her social time. She is motivated by planning and accomplishing projects of which her favorite ones are cleaning the house with her sister. Milostina loves close-up shots because they can make any object beautiful.
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Barbie leaves her house with a mask on to run errands.
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Barbie’s shopping baskets stocking up the household with durable canned goods, vitamin-full and nutritious veggies, and toilet paper.
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Barbie makes sure to wash her hands with soap and hot water right after she returns from the store to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
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Staying at home, Barbie makes sure to spend quality time with her sister and enjoy good food.
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Barbie’s house at the end of the day peacefully awaiting better days.
MASTERING PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE TIME OF COVID-19 - a photo-book that was created in Spring 2020 to share the stories of Journalism and Mass Communications (JMC) students of the American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) during the pandemic. Photos from each section are shot and edited by the artists themselves. Supervised by JMC321 professor - Jodi Hilton. Design&layout by Yenlik O’Neill. Contact information: jmc321spring@gmail.com
SPRING 2020 JMC 321 AUBG (C) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED