Back in January I visited my friends’ house and noticed he had a huge box of 500 surgeon’s masks in his entry hallway which had just been delivered by Amazon.
I thought it was a strange purchase as he is not a doctor or works in the medical field, and in fact, has been retired for a few years.
He went on to tell me about a virus in China and he thought it might spread to other countries so he figured he should order some masks just in case and asked if I would like some.
At the time, I told him I could see no need for the masks and passed on the offer.
By the end of March, I was wearing an N95 mask all day and covering events only outdoors. I ended each day stripping my clothes off in the garage and running to a hot shower washing my gear with a diluted bleach solution and dumping all my clothes in a hot bleach wash.
So much has occurred over the last year, it hardly seems possible that 2020 began with the tragic death of Kobe Bryant. Such has been one of the wildest years of working as a photojournalist I have ever experienced.
