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| Capturing a World of Emptiness | Capturing a World of Emptiness |
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| Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. | Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. |
| In São Paulo, Brazil, Victor Moriyama covered his face with a mask, slipped on gloves and mounted his motorbike to ride through the emptying city streets. | In São Paulo, Brazil, Victor Moriyama covered his face with a mask, slipped on gloves and mounted his motorbike to ride through the emptying city streets. |
| In Paris, Andrea Mantovani cruised through the deserted roads in a cab. Her driver had so few passengers that he remembered her by name from two days before. | In Paris, Andrea Mantovani cruised through the deserted roads in a cab. Her driver had so few passengers that he remembered her by name from two days before. |
| And in Tehran, Arash Khamooshi met a lone man waiting at a bus stop. They yelled greetings through their masks — from more than six feet apart. | And in Tehran, Arash Khamooshi met a lone man waiting at a bus stop. They yelled greetings through their masks — from more than six feet apart. |
| Each of these photographers — and some three dozen others scattered across the globe — were charged with the same task: to capture the vast stillness that has fallen over the world during the coronavirus pandemic. The resulting images in the project, “The Great Empty,” accompanied by an introductory essay by the Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman, can be seen in a collection online and in a special section of this Sunday’s paper. | Each of these photographers — and some three dozen others scattered across the globe — were charged with the same task: to capture the vast stillness that has fallen over the world during the coronavirus pandemic. The resulting images in the project, “The Great Empty,” accompanied by an introductory essay by the Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman, can be seen in a collection online and in a special section of this Sunday’s paper. |
| David Furst, the international picture editor, came up with the idea and oversaw the project from his New York apartment, where he is now confined to working. So many of the world’s famous public places were deserted, he said, that he thought people should look at them together. “The world was so immediately connected,” Mr. Furst said. “There was a real power in that.” | David Furst, the international picture editor, came up with the idea and oversaw the project from his New York apartment, where he is now confined to working. So many of the world’s famous public places were deserted, he said, that he thought people should look at them together. “The world was so immediately connected,” Mr. Furst said. “There was a real power in that.” |
| The scenes at those locations were otherworldly. You never see an empty Times Square, he said, or Place de la Concorde, one of the major public squares in Paris, completely devoid of cars. “The virus has created a new urban landscape.” | The scenes at those locations were otherworldly. You never see an empty Times Square, he said, or Place de la Concorde, one of the major public squares in Paris, completely devoid of cars. “The virus has created a new urban landscape.” |
| Times photo editors across the globe assigned photographers who were based in the cities where the virus was hitting hardest. For many who were dispatched, the project was unlike any they had undertaken. “I’m always documenting human beings, and this is photographing the absence of them,” said Todd Heisler, a Times staff photographer in New York. | Times photo editors across the globe assigned photographers who were based in the cities where the virus was hitting hardest. For many who were dispatched, the project was unlike any they had undertaken. “I’m always documenting human beings, and this is photographing the absence of them,” said Todd Heisler, a Times staff photographer in New York. |
| Shooting at Place de la Concorde, Ms. Mantovani said she had never experienced Paris that way before. “You can hear silence,” she recalled. “Normally, Paris is a video. But the video has stopped, and now it’s a painting. There is no movement.” | Shooting at Place de la Concorde, Ms. Mantovani said she had never experienced Paris that way before. “You can hear silence,” she recalled. “Normally, Paris is a video. But the video has stopped, and now it’s a painting. There is no movement.” |
| Her photographs of the square, gray monuments under a leaden sky, resemble a moonscape. “I was rediscovering Place de la Concorde,” she said. “It was a new world. It is a new world.” | Her photographs of the square, gray monuments under a leaden sky, resemble a moonscape. “I was rediscovering Place de la Concorde,” she said. “It was a new world. It is a new world.” |
| That same day, almost 6,000 miles away in Brazil, Mr. Moriyama interpreted the desolation of São Paulo’s streets through the lens of a lit apartment building, with solitary figures standing — “one person per window” — in self-quarantine, some beating pans in protest of President Jair Bolsonaro’s lax stance on the pandemic. | That same day, almost 6,000 miles away in Brazil, Mr. Moriyama interpreted the desolation of São Paulo’s streets through the lens of a lit apartment building, with solitary figures standing — “one person per window” — in self-quarantine, some beating pans in protest of President Jair Bolsonaro’s lax stance on the pandemic. |
| When the photographers received their instructions, they were also given guidance to protect themselves. Depending on the circumstances, editors told photographers to wear masks and gloves or in some cases to take further protections, and to avoid proximity and confined spaces, directions that run counter to many photographers’ instincts to get physically close to the action. | When the photographers received their instructions, they were also given guidance to protect themselves. Depending on the circumstances, editors told photographers to wear masks and gloves or in some cases to take further protections, and to avoid proximity and confined spaces, directions that run counter to many photographers’ instincts to get physically close to the action. |
| Gaia Tripoli, a photo editor based in London, asked photographers to bear witness to the particular changes of their city. “We ended up with a very powerful body of work from a lot of different cities, but every photographer has a particular approach,” she said, adding that the aim of the collection was that the images all “sing together.” | Gaia Tripoli, a photo editor based in London, asked photographers to bear witness to the particular changes of their city. “We ended up with a very powerful body of work from a lot of different cities, but every photographer has a particular approach,” she said, adding that the aim of the collection was that the images all “sing together.” |
| Federico Rios, a photographer based in Medellín, Colombia, who often covers political violence across South America, said the coronavirus has posed a unique challenge for him. | Federico Rios, a photographer based in Medellín, Colombia, who often covers political violence across South America, said the coronavirus has posed a unique challenge for him. |
| “I’ve covered conflicts, and you always think, ‘If I’m wearing a bulletproof vest it’s because maybe I’ll get shot,’” he said. “But with this, how do you protect yourself against something that isn’t visible?” | “I’ve covered conflicts, and you always think, ‘If I’m wearing a bulletproof vest it’s because maybe I’ll get shot,’” he said. “But with this, how do you protect yourself against something that isn’t visible?” |
| After completing an assignment in Bogotá, he rode his motorcycle back — not home to his wife and two young children, but to his birth city, Manizales, where he could stay in a family home away from others for 14 days. | After completing an assignment in Bogotá, he rode his motorcycle back — not home to his wife and two young children, but to his birth city, Manizales, where he could stay in a family home away from others for 14 days. |
| Back in Tehran, under mask and gloves, Mr. Khamooshi struggled to work the camera with sweaty hands. Communicating from a distance with the lone man at the bus stop, whom he had just photographed, was also difficult. | Back in Tehran, under mask and gloves, Mr. Khamooshi struggled to work the camera with sweaty hands. Communicating from a distance with the lone man at the bus stop, whom he had just photographed, was also difficult. |
| Updated August 3, 2020 | |
| “We were speaking loudly — kind of shouting — to be able to hear each other,” Mr. Khamooshi recalled in Persian through a translator. For a moment, he added, anxiety dissolved and “it just made us laugh.” | “We were speaking loudly — kind of shouting — to be able to hear each other,” Mr. Khamooshi recalled in Persian through a translator. For a moment, he added, anxiety dissolved and “it just made us laugh.” |
| All of the photographers interviewed expressed a sense of responsibility in carrying out the assignment. “Right now, I’m just thinking, ‘How can we show this crisis?’” said Mr. Moriyama, who photographed the São Paulo apartment building and said he’s been reflecting on the social impact of the pandemic. “I feel I must go outside and document what’s going on.” | All of the photographers interviewed expressed a sense of responsibility in carrying out the assignment. “Right now, I’m just thinking, ‘How can we show this crisis?’” said Mr. Moriyama, who photographed the São Paulo apartment building and said he’s been reflecting on the social impact of the pandemic. “I feel I must go outside and document what’s going on.” |
| For many photographers, the impact that the absence of people had on the character of a place was palpable. While on assignment in Munich, Germany, last week, Laetitia Vancon watched the streets drain of people, comparing the emptiness to “switching off the soul of the town.” On Instagram, she called it “a farewell to what we used to know.” | For many photographers, the impact that the absence of people had on the character of a place was palpable. While on assignment in Munich, Germany, last week, Laetitia Vancon watched the streets drain of people, comparing the emptiness to “switching off the soul of the town.” On Instagram, she called it “a farewell to what we used to know.” |
| Across the world, some dozen editors curated 34 images and the words contextualizing them. Readers scrolling through the selections online would see only brief text: location and time stamps moving across the page or a brief caption. There were only 600 words of accompanying text. By design, even the headline — just three words — was minimal in relation to the images. | Across the world, some dozen editors curated 34 images and the words contextualizing them. Readers scrolling through the selections online would see only brief text: location and time stamps moving across the page or a brief caption. There were only 600 words of accompanying text. By design, even the headline — just three words — was minimal in relation to the images. |
| Working from his kitchen table in New York, Rumsey Taylor, the art director overseeing mobile and digital layout, was conscious of striking an “austere” tone throughout the piece. | Working from his kitchen table in New York, Rumsey Taylor, the art director overseeing mobile and digital layout, was conscious of striking an “austere” tone throughout the piece. |
| And from his 13-year-old’s bedroom in New Jersey, Wayne Kamidoi, an art director on the Print Hub, the department that produces the physical newspaper, worked on his day off to design the 16-page, full-color special edition for this Sunday. There, you can leaf through cities gone quiet. | And from his 13-year-old’s bedroom in New Jersey, Wayne Kamidoi, an art director on the Print Hub, the department that produces the physical newspaper, worked on his day off to design the 16-page, full-color special edition for this Sunday. There, you can leaf through cities gone quiet. |
| Last week, in an early morning rainstorm, Mr. Heisler stood on a pedestrian plaza in Times Square, catching the rhythm of the LCD screens cycling through messages. One read in all caps: “Please Stay Home When You Are Sick.” | Last week, in an early morning rainstorm, Mr. Heisler stood on a pedestrian plaza in Times Square, catching the rhythm of the LCD screens cycling through messages. One read in all caps: “Please Stay Home When You Are Sick.” |
| He pressed the shutter. | He pressed the shutter. |
| “I hope that it gives readers insight into what they are experiencing in their cities,” Mr. Taylor said of the project. “That this is a shared experience around the world, and that as scary as all this is, we are not alone in this. That’s what this story is meant to convey.” | “I hope that it gives readers insight into what they are experiencing in their cities,” Mr. Taylor said of the project. “That this is a shared experience around the world, and that as scary as all this is, we are not alone in this. That’s what this story is meant to convey.” |
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