Social Lens No. 27: Faces After the Pandemic
This is the continuation of the Social Lens series.
Why 'Social Lens'?
It is called Social, because I am interested in everything related to humanity, how people live and act, what we do consciously and unconsciously, how we effect the world around us and treat one another.
Lens in this context refers to -- wait for it -- the lens of the camera I will be using to take the pictures of what I am seeing (that at least is pretty obvious...), but it also refers to my viewpoint - everything I watch and see is observed through my eyes. There isn't really a way around that of course, and as long as one is aware of that it shouldn't be much of a problem. After all, life is experienced individually and every point of view can add to the greater whole.
Mas wearing has definitely left its mark on people's faces - almost permanently as seen here:
I finished with this note:
It is interesting how many people are still wearing masks outside now almost 2 weeks after the mandates have been lifted here. How will this behavior evolve in the coming weeks and months?
Unfortunately I have been really busy so I couldn't do a follow up right away. But I have kept a mental record of how things evolved here. In April when mask mandates were lifted for most places I noticed that a majority of people kept wearing them. This really surprised me - I still remember how I went on one of the first days to a supermarket and 99% of the people were still wearing masks. This behavior didn't change much over the following weeks and even months. Even after 2 months about 80% were still wearing masks. Although I did notice that the behavior was dependent on the places as well. For example, in cheaper retail stores less people wore masks, but in more affluent places there was a much higher percentage of mask wearers.
Now almost 4 months after the lifting of the mask mandates the numbers have come down a lot. In supermarkets there are about 40-60% of mask wearers and perhaps 10-20% of people still wear them outside. In other words, 2 years of rules and restrictions as well as sanctions have left their mark, not only on people's body directly, but also in their behaviors. Of course this is limited for the place/country I am living. I have heard that this behavior is quite different for e.g., Denmark where mask restrictions were discontinued earlier and the state ended the pandemic earlier.
So what follows is a visual update on the situation here

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I much prefer the uncovered faces!!! Thank goodness I live where mask wearing is fairly rare, the boondocks of New York State. The place I moved from in downstate New York is still heavily masked. Choruses perform masked, and the entire audience has to wear a mask. Theaters require masks of the entire audience too. So bizarre.
Thanks for the update. I hope being able to breathe freely for a while will result in more of us refusing to comply when they throw that nonsense at us again.
me too, but Germany has that kind of mentality... I mean if the studies were clear that they were really effective, but that isn't really the case.
I’m loving this series because it is something that I don’t do and could never do in my photography because I prefer nature and being alone while taking photos. I enjoy viewing your social lens shots, it allows me to learn people’s behavior on the streets or public areas… it’s interesting shots 👍👍
You did great on capturing moving subjects. Well done!
thank you :)) It definitely is more in the spot light than nature photography, but it can be very rewarding. And if you have a good zoom lens then you don't have to get too close as well ;)
I think so too :)
And yes, it will be rewarding for sure, because nobody can replicate a candid or spontaneous shot ever.
We are all so tired of wearing masks, and then again the question of restrictions and wearing masks arose ...
yep here as well. Although it seems that not much will change for the winter here which is good and bad
Good thing is numbers are going down but for me i do wear it in public for extra careful and hiding face behind mask.
Tho you took perfect pictures, each of it you capture has a story to tell! Impressive.
Have fun ahead! Looking forward to see more masterpiece.
thanks for the kind feedback! I actually thought that many people use it for being more anonymous rather than for medical purposes. Sometimes that can be useful ;)
My pleasure, yea its best and useful for people having social anxiety.
I always do this!
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