A photography exhibition featuring images of residents of West Watford taken during the pandemic is on display at Watford Museum.
Called The Covid Chronicles: Life Under Lockdown, the collection of 15 photos - and an A2 montage featuring over 100 locals - by Eric Johnson captures the community spirit the nation showed in their appreciation for keyworkers and the NHS during the Thursday evening claps in the first lockdown.
Mr Johnson, who used to live in Harwoods Road before moving to Apsley last May, used his exercise time to photograph his neighbours and the changing face of the town as the country grappled with coronavirus.
Keen to show his support for the NHS, Mr Johnson later made the photos available for sale on his website, with half of the profits donated to West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust 's official charity, Raise.
The photographer said: "I remember being quite moved by the first ‘clap for carers’, when everyone came out of their homes and saw familiar faces for the first time in weeks. It was then I decided this would make a great project as a record of these unprecedented times.
"So every Thursday, armed with my camera, I went to local roads to photograph my neighbours on their doorsteps. I published them on my Facebook page and Twitter - and it started getting traction and a huge amount of interest. It wasn’t long before I had numerous requests from locals to photograph their roads.
"Each image captures a snapshot of time riddled with great uncertainty in a moment none of us will forget."
Zoe Walter, who features in the exhibition, along with her housemates, said: "We didn’t realise that being caught in the moment, supporting the NHS, building a sense of community and becoming closer with our neighbours, would lead to being in a museum."
The wife and daughter of Aqib Khalil, who works in Watford as a pharmacist, also feature. His daughter is holding up a sign to the camera saying 'our dad is a hero’'
Mr Johnson captured more than 1,000 photographs, so he launched a competition for his social media followers to ‘like’ their favourites, and the 15 most popular were selected to be exhibited.
The exhibition, which can be found at Space2 on the first floor of Watford Museum, has been praised by Watford MP Dean Russell and the town's mayor Peter Taylor. They both hailed the community spirit he was able to capture during what was a tough time for so many.
The exhibition will be at the museum in Lower High Street until mid-March.
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