19th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Altered Images
FEVER - COVID-19 - washing away the virus

As COVID-19 drastically altered our personal lives and our wider world, our temperature became a sign of potential infection, and danger to ourselves and others. All images are taken in Istanbul, Turkey, my adopted home. They highlight how the perceived threat of the novel coronavirus can come from everywhere, and from everyone, and how our familiar habits and surroundings have suddenly become potential sources of anxiety. As the fear and anxiety of contamination spread from our city streets to our bedrooms and living rooms, this series documents my pandemic life with a thermal camera, brining the invisible potential viral infection to life. The second half of these diptychs are made of screenshots from Turkey's Ministry of Health COVID-19 contact tracing app, showing how the virus is spreading throughout Istanbul. Strange photographs for a strange period.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 12.2020
Date Uploaded: 11.2021
Photo Location: Istanbul, Türkiye
Copyright: © Bradley Secker