Aurora Photographer Finds Beauty Amid Coronavirus Lockdown

AURORA, IL — It didn’t take long for Aurora photographer Donnell Collins to shake off the worries brought on by the coronavirus outbreak and welcome the challenges the state’s lockdown created for his medium. By mid-April, about a month after the first known cases of coronavirus were recorded in the city, Collins kicked into gear with his “Driveby Photo Shoot Project.”

The project, which lives on Collins’ Facebook page, features photos and short stories about people living and working in lockdown, reminiscent of the hugely popular Humans of New York blog. Collins hopes to soon create his own blog around the project.

Aurora Remembers Fallen Heroes With Virtual Memorial Day Event

Collins runs a studio with several other photographers, but the studio and his freelancing gigs are shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. With so much time on his hands, Collins felt it was time to dust off some of the “ideas that I’ve had sitting on the shelf in my mind.”

The 64-year-old photographer was somewhat nervous to start a new creative project, but after more than seven weeks of daily photo shoots in people’s driveways, yards and at local businesses, he said he is grateful to have a new way to “follow my passion for photos and storytelling.”

Illinois Coronavirus Update May 26 — Don't miss updates about precautions in the Aurora area as they are announced — Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

Collins has worked as a photojournalist for the past 25 years, working for the Aurora Beacon-News and a number of other newspapers and magazines, including the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune and ESPN The Magazine. In a normal spring, Collins would be shooting photos for the Kane County Cougars, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Class A minor league team.

Despite taking a financial hit due to the coronavirus pandemic, Collins said it has given him the opportunity to do what he loves without any pressure.

Coronavirus Cases In Kane County Approach 6K

“I don’t have to worry about making money; it’s taken a lot of the stress out of photography for me,” Collins said. “I’m just doing this for the love of the game — no pressure, no deadlines, nothing to affect my creative juices.”

Collins said he plans to post photos for his project every day until the state’s stay-at-home order is lifted.

While the photo shoots give locals something to mark on their calendar and look forward to, Collins said they also offer him a way to give back to his community.

“Giving something back to the community that’s given me so much has just been rewarding,” Collins said. “I didn’t realize the power of that.”

Collins encouraged anyone who is interested in participating in his “Driveby Photo Shoot Project” to reach out to him to set up a shoot.