A Sheffield resident wearing a protective face mask in the deserted city centreA Sheffield resident wearing a protective face mask in the deserted city centre
A Sheffield resident wearing a protective face mask in the deserted city centre

Student photographer captures images of life during lockdown in Sheffield

A student photographer has been using her government approved daily exercise to document how the lockdown has affected the lives of people in Sheffield.

Nhu Hoang, who is studying a masters in journalism at Sheffield Hallam University, has been roaming the near-deserted city streets photographing individuals carrying out daily tasks outside during quarantine.

The 25-year-old says she began capturing the images as part of a university assignment.

Her subjects include key workers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as people social distancing in a queue for the supermarket – sights which have become familiar to many throughout the outbreak.

Nhu, who is originally from Vietnam, said: “From the first day of lockdown I’ve been taking my camera whenever I go out and started taking the pictures for my class ‘photography for journalists’, taking photos about how coronavirus affects people in Sheffield.

“It’s interesting to see, this situation is unique – never happened before and maybe never happen again later in my life. I’m a journalist in my country so I care about people and what is happening in the world.”

Vietnam was one of the first nations to ban flights to and from mainland China and began rolling out social distancing measures to limit the spread of the virus on January 28.

The country has seen no Covid-19 related deaths and the number of confirmed cases has stayed very low, with just 270 recorded as of April 30.

Despite everything, Nhu says she believes she made the right decision by staying in Sheffield.

“In the lockdown my family told me to come home and a lot of my friends ended up flying away from the UK,” Nhu added. “I decided to stay – I was worried about the virus so it was best to protect myself but allowed me to observe what was happening in this country.

“People in Vietnam, in the beginning, were freaking out and didn’t go out but people in Sheffield were still going out, sticking to the social distancing, they wanted to enjoy their lives.

“For my assignment, I only needed four photos to submit but I’ve ended up taking a lot more, everything I noticed with people carrying on their daily life.”