Leah Hennel, a Calgary-based award-winning photojournalist and a staff photographer for Alberta Health Services, has captured memorable moments of sadness, fear, courage, hope, and above all, resilience in her most recent book, Alone Together: A Pandemic Photo Essay.
- Alone Together
- Leah Hennel
- RMB | Rocky Mountain Books
- $32.00 Paperback, 256 pages
- ISBN: 978-17-71605-63-2
The photographs beautifully illustrate how health-care workers, patients, and other citizens in Alberta have adapted to the dangers of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and found safe new ways to work, socialize, and celebrate during a time of global chaos.
Hennel believes it is important to document this time. She says, “You have to adapt – there is no choice, really. Plus, you realize that everyday people, health-care workers and Albertans in general, turn out to be the heroes that we needed. And this book, in some way, is a historical document – a snapshot, no pun intended, of a moment in time.”
Alone Together includes images of health-care workers collecting nasal samples from Albertans, of patients on ventilators, and of their families visiting from a distance. Subjects of photos range in age from a 98-year-old woman celebrating her birthday, to the young, to even very little babies born during this season of fear and trauma.
“The pandemic affected everyone, yet each individual’s journey was unique. So, we were all in this one thing together, but striving independently in a lot of ways,” Hennel says. Hence the title Alone Together.
There are also images of deserted public spaces, of which Hennel says, “It was such an eerie feeling driving around the city. Empty streets, no traffic. It’s hard to believe we’ll ever see that again. I really wanted the photos to convey a sense of loss – the loss of human connection, the loss of hustle and bustle.”
Her job as a staff photographer puts Hennel in a perfect position to showcase the relentless dedication of health-care workers during the pandemic. Yet, she knows that the images do not show everything.
“It would be impossible to capture the range and depth of emotion,” she says. “There are not enough words and images to do justice to what they’ve sacrificed, to their devotion. We all know they’re there to save lives, but when you’re actually on site and you see it first-hand, you’ll never forget it. Health workers on the job, it’s awe-inspiring.”
Even with her role in the health system, there were challenges. Hennel says, “I’m going into territory that is quite private and sensitive. Often – and quite literally – this is the worst day in someone’s life.” She had access to hospitals, but she still had to earn the trust of the health-care teams and the patients on the unit.
This is Hennel’s second book of photographs – Along the Western Front came out in 2020. The common thread throughout Hennel’s work? It’s all about human emotion and daily life. “Life is an interesting roller coaster for everyone. I’ve always found people interesting, and I gravitate towards documenting life, whether it’s happy, sad, uplifting, grim,” she says.
Alone Together will have a powerful impact on readers. “For some readers, a behind-the-scenes look at the pandemic might still feel too raw,” says Hennel.
“But the book features a cast of heroes, all of whom should be remembered.”
