Keeping Up With the Quarantined is an ongoing photo essay of my family’s experience during COVID-19. Despite our fear of the unknown and the struggles we’ve faced, our tiny apartment is always full of warmth, laughter, music, and love. I feel incredibly lucky to be with my family during this time.
My younger brother, Manny, poses for a portrait in golden hour light.
My mom and brother laugh as we play a game of Head’s Up on her 58th birthday.
My dad, mom, and brother play music together in our Wahiawa, HI home. Our house is always filled with the sounds of random singing, my mom playing the piano, my brother playing trombone, and my dad playing the guitar. My parents first met in a music group in the Philippines and have made it a point to surround us in music throughout the entirety of me and my siblings’ lives.
My brother kisses our beloved dog, Big “Biggie” Puppa, as she sits on my bed.
My younger sister, Catherine, laughs as I surprise attack her with pictures.
An iPhone picture of my newborn baby cousin, Zavian, sits on my bed. Despite only being 20 minutes away by car, we haven’t been able to see him much since his birth. For about a month, we were limited to FaceTime interactions and pictures sent by his mother.
My parents look at my baby cousin, Zavian, for the first time through his home's sliding glass door in Ewa Beach.
My Lola (grandma in Filipino) laughs as I take pictures of her through FaceTime. She lives with my Lolo (grandpa in Filipino) in the Cagayan de Oro province of the Philippines. Ever since the pandemic began, she’s been FaceTiming my mother more frequently due to her anxiety.
My mother smiles during her virtual piano lesson. She has continued to teach her piano students through video chat.
Manny attempts to dance with Biggie.
My mom prays while watching a virtual mass on an iPhone.
MARIE ERIEL HOBRO IS A DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHER AND FILMMAKER BASED IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. SHE WAS BORN AND RAISED IN MARYLAND UNTIL THE AGE OF 10 AND SPENT THE REST OF HER PRE-TEEN AND TEENAGE YEARS IN HAWAI'I. SHE IS CURRENTLY STUDYING VISUAL JOURNALISM AT BROOKS INSTITUTE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND WAS A STUDENT PARTICIPANT IN THE EDDIE ADAMS XXIX WORKSHOP.
HOBRO ENJOYS WORKING ON STORIES THAT CELEBRATE AND EMBRACE INDIVIDUALITY, BREAK SOCIAL NORMS AND DEFY ODDS. SHE IS ALSO INTERESTED IN EXPLORING THE HEALING POWER OF HUMOR AND THE EFFECT THAT IT HAS ON MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH. WITH HER CAMERA AS HER TOOL, SHE HOPES TO GIVE A VOICE TO THE UNIQUE AND UNNOTICED PEOPLE OF THIS WORLD-- EMPOWERING THEM AND GIVING THEM THE POSITIVE RECOGNITION THAT THEY DESERVE.
"JOURNALISM IS FOR THE PEOPLE.
IT IS COMMUNITY-CENTRIC YET GLOBAL IN PERSPECTIVE.
IT IS TO INFORM AND ENLIGHTEN; TO EXPAND THE DIALOGUE;
TO PROBE AND PROVOKE; TO STIMULATE AND ENGAGE;
TO SHOW THE WAY OR PRESENT ANOTHER WAY;
TO OPEN THE DOORS AND TO COVER WRONG;
TO GIVE THE VOICELESS A MEGAPHONE."
-BRENDA BUTLER