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It's not an understatement to say the coronavirus pandemic has changed the world - it will become part of the collective memory.
A Ballarat photographer wants to help preserve that memory, and is aiming to begin a project documenting family life during isolation, which he has titled Ballarat Viral Times.
Steve Barnes said he's hoping families would like to participate - in exchange for a small fee, he would take a personalised photo from outside the front gate.
He said he wanted to encourage families to show off how they were getting through this period of isolation - perhaps kids are dressing up, or people are exploring new hobbies.
The families would receive a digital copy of the photo, and it would be added to his blog, which would act like a time capsule for future generations.
"Although Ballarat is largely locked down, there's still a bit of community spirit," Mr Barnes said.
"Families are getting inventive about the way they're living and socialising in isolation - this project combines a photography service that gives them a really good memory about how they handled this time, which they can pass on, so if the kids are three or four now, they can show them in 10 years.
"There's photos from the Great Depression of people out the front of their houses, but we have a situation now where people are isolated but fortunately they're working from home or there's some government assistance coming - but we're still isolated."
Images of empty streets and isolated people are beginning to emerge as a creative response to the crisis - for example, the Ballarat International Foto Biennale is partnering with FORMAT International Photography Festival and Gallery of Photography Ireland to create a visual record of the current COVID-19 pandemic on Instagram, using the hashtag #massisolationAUS.
Mr Barnes said his project would have a different focus.
"It's not recording the emptiness, or empty streets, it's the positive side, and the family spirit," he said.
"I want this to be a record of a good time, where people found resources within themselves and their families to discover ways they could cope, and enjoy the time to some extent.
"You can tell by people's expressions, what's going through their minds, their character shows out through their faces, and Ballarat has something special about it, it comes out in part at a time like this, and it can be captured in images."
A photographer since he was a teenager, Mr Barnes said he had worked for commercial publications and in stock images before turning his attention to portraiture projects, including a stunning dog photography project.
"I started Four Foot Fotos, that's been featured in the Biennale - it started with the dog photos, that's been a real thing," he said.
"We came back south from Brisbane four years ago, the dog photography was growing up there, but Ballarat, people really love that, and it's been lovely."
To get involved, visit Mr Barnes' website to find out more.
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