Photo Gallery: Hawai‘i During the Pandemic in 2020

Everyone experienced the pandemic through a different lens. Beyond the images imprinted on our memories of long lines at testing sites and grocery stores, barren store shelves and empty roadways, we asked our readers and staff to share the pictures they took of life during the past year. Send us your photos at info@honolulumagazine.com.

Dec. 10, 2020, Kapi‘olani Boulevard

Young ballet dancers practicing in a car wash caught photographer Lance Agena’s eye as he walked by. Amid shuttered businesses and the Neal Blaisdell Arena, “This one brightly lit garage held a reason to smile.”

December 2020, Mānoa

Like hundreds in Hawai‘i, Richard Lee picked up a bicycle last year and began taking his twin sons, Aiden (left) and Brandon (right), around his own small-kid-time routes, including the mall at UH Mānoa.

May 27, 2020, East Mānoa Road

Prior to the pandemic, Mike Hee (@mike_hee) would often see drivers park here to take breaks outside their buses. This driver never left his seat. “The expression on his face was very reflective of the fatigue, frustration and helplessness that we all felt.”

July 28, 2020, Nānākuli

Jen Pangacian took this photo of her granddaughter and the girl’s best friend taking a break on a hiking trip. Pangacian says they were so intrigued by this view, which the two had not seen before, that she wanted to record the moment.

June 12, 2020, Papakōlea

HONOLULU staff photographer Aaron K. Yoshino (@honozooloo) photographed volunteers for Feed the People HI. By October, the Pili Group’s program was providing food for more than 10,000 people weekly.

May 1, 2020, Waikīkī

Yoshino’s portrait of a lone fishing pole on empty beachfronts is one of his favorites from this time. “The economic impact of emptying Waikīkī is nothing to be happy about. … But I do find it incredibly reassuring to see fish coming back to the waters here, and everything that comes with it.”

April 27, 2020, Mililani

Rowan Foster graduated from Mililani High School. Her mom, Anna, posted this photo on Facebook, asking family and friends to send their congratulations when all activities were canceled.

Nov. 10, 2020, Hotel Street

Anthony Consillio (@consilliophotog) captured this man walking down Maunakea Street. Consillio found more closed businesses than people during his regular walks through Chinatown in 2020.

June 1, 2020, Central O‘ahu

HONOLULU editorial director Christi Young’s 4-year-old’s preschool closed in March. When it reopened, Young sewed her daughter and her dolls matching masks to ease her into the new safety protocols.

Nov. 30, 2020, Hāmākua Coast, Hawai‘i Island

Sun Min Chun did some interisland traveling with her boyfriend, Odeelo Dayondon, and found comfort with Lily, a sheep rescued after the 2018 lava flow by Magical Creatures of Hāmākua.

June 20, 2020, Pauoa Valley

Michael Keany and his sister Mary (pictured) only saw their little niece Nuala once last year. Nuala’s mom, Catherine, is an emergency room nurse at Maui Memorial Medical Center and made the short trip just before case counts spiked in July.

July 3, 2020, Hotel Street

Photographer Tim Huynh  (@th__street) captured this photo at a bus stop as a passenger got off and rushed past him. Huynh says the man’s right arm “exemplifies the energy and chaos in the times we are all currently in.”

May 31, 2020, Kamilo Iki Community Park

HONOLULU’s managing editor Katrina Valcourt snapped this photo of her brother-in-law, Ripton Scott, doing one of the few things allowed in Honolulu parks at that time.

May 23, 2020, The intersection of Bethel and Beretania streets

The message Michael Keany found on a boarded-up spa says it all.