And now for something completely different: I returned to North Carolina in mid-March where I immediately tested positive for Coronavirus. Thankfully I had an extremely mild case, so my main concern was not infecting those close to me. To cope with the interminable time of being not only isolated from the world, but also from my family and my partner, Kasia and I documented our respective experiences: me, confined to a few rooms and her, unable to visit and seeking refuge in nature. A selection of our images was published on NPR’s The Picture Show​. This project, obviously, is a departure for me - I’ve never published work of such a personal nature before, and never turned the camera on myself or those close to me in such a serious way. The feeling is strange, and not entirely comfortable, but I guess I just hope that that feeling is growth, and that maybe I’ll learn something from this mess.

L’Auberge Rigole : Jaurès, Paris : February 8, 2020. 

In 2020 maybe I’ll try to share more images that speak to me for intangible reasons. Zakopane, Poland. #newyearsresolution #abstract #snow

“Top Nine” Instagram photos (by likes) in 2019 includes three from The Alternative Elfstedentocht ice skating race in Austria, four different assignments for my friends at The New York Times, and three archival images from previous years.

L-R from top: 1) Yellow Vests, Paris [December 2018]. 2) Breakfast atop Twin Peaks, San Francisco [2013]. 3) Les Desgommeuses, Women’s World Cup, Paris. 4) Skaters at The Alternative Elfstedentocht; Weißensee, Austria. 5) Penultimate lap of the Tour de France, Paris. 6) The Cigar Smoking World Championships; Split, Croatia. 7) Dawn at the Alternative Elfstedentocht. 8) Missing teeth at The Alternative Elfstedentocht. 9) Indigenous People’s Sunrise Ceremony, Alcatraz, SF [2012 + 2014].

Egan Bernal kisses the forehead of his younger brother, Ronald, moments after crossing the finish line of the final stage of the 106th Tour de France, becoming the first South American rider to win and the youngest winner in a hundred years. At left is Bernal’s Team Ineos teammate, Geraint Thomas, who won the race in 2018. Photographed for The New York Times.

Egan Bernal rides into the sunset on the final stage of the 106th Tour de France, becoming the first South American rider to win the race and, at 22, the youngest winner in the last hundred years. Photographed for The New York Times.

From the archives: Penultimate lap of the 106th Tour de France, for The New York Times.

Meanwhile in Kyiv, a few thousand rallied against capitulation to Russia on the eve of President Zelensky’s Normandy Format meetings with Putin, Merkel and Macron in Paris.

Female soldiers receive flowers from their male colleagues as part of Ukraine Armed Forces Day festivities, photographed for The Sunday Times.

Went back to Avdiivka for the first time since 2016, to do reporting and photos, for The Sunday Times.

Portraits of the competitors. The Cigar Smoking World Championships, for The New York Times. If you like these, please see a few more in a new gallery on my site.

Attaque au feu. The Cigar Smoking World Championships, for The New York Times.

“Cigars were all over the place, of course. They were the main competitive apparatus. They were among the prizes. They were appetizers, side dishes and desserts at the postmatch dinner. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ There were victory cigars. There were defeat cigars.”

The Cigar Smoking World Championships, for The New York Times.

Competitors light their cigars, for which they are allotted two matches and one minute. The Cigar Smoking World Championships, for The New York Times.

The Cigar Smoking World Championships, for The New York Times.

“It’s like exams in school: you prepare a long time, and then you’re done, and you feel empty. I’m happy. But I don’t totally understand what I’ve done,” Oleg Pedan told us shortly after winning the 2019 Cigar Smoking World Championships. Photographed for The New York Times.

Artist, and friend, Grayling Cunningham poses for a portrait in a vacant apartment in Lewiston, Maine.