Hold Still - The UK Lockdown - in pictures

Hold Still is a digital exhibition hosted by the National Portrait Gallery. People of all ages, from across the UK, were invited to submit a photographic portrait which they had taken during lockdown. The project aimed to capture and document the spirit, the mood, the hopes, the fears and the feelings of the nation as we continued to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. The final 100 images include one by the Guardian’s Sarah Lee

At the end of a shift

This is a studio portrait of Tendai, a recovery and anaesthetics nurse, who was born in Zimbabwe, and now lives in my local town - Reading, Berkshire. I wanted to portray her caring side as well as a look of concern and uncertainty that many of us have experienced during this pandemic. It’s why I chose a lower than normal angle and asked her to look off camera, placing her half way down in the frame

Photograph: Neil Palmer

Sister attending online ballet class

My sister Aurelie, use to go to ballet class once a week. But because of lockdown she cannot do so. So, she is now doing her ballet class over Zoom. I find it unremarkable now but, few months back, no one would have thought to do it this way. Taken while she was practicing ballet in our London home and my grandmother is watching her, the picture has lots of contrast such as my Indian grandmother wearing a sari, watching my younger sister dancing western dance, wearing a western ballet dress. It shows different generations and future technology coexisting

Photograph: Vedant (aged 12 years)

Stockport Spider Men bringing smiles to children in lockdown

The Stockport Spider Men was started by friends Jason Baird and Andrew Baldock who both took to the streets of Stockport right at the start of lockdown dressed as Spider Man to use their daily exercise time to keep the children smiling. This then turned in to a national phenomenon with over fifty other members of the general public joining dressed as various other characters. On top of visiting the community to bring ‘social distancing smiles’, as Jason called it, Jason also set up a Justgiving fund for the NHS Charities Together

Photograph: Jason Baird

School

During lockdown, my mum had to become a primary school teacher for my 6-year-old brother. This mo- ment captures one of the few times my brother was eager to do his homework. Through this photograph, I wanted to convey a warm feeling of when family is together

Photograph: Marcela (aged 17 yrs)

My only friend

Myself and my husband lost our jobs just before lockdown as we work in the theatre industry. We’re so frightened about the future of our trades and it’s a little overwhelming to try and predict our own futures. This photo was taken on a day when I was feeling particularly down and lonely. I set my son Phoenix up on my bed with blankets, a movie and a snack and went to have a good cry in the bathroom. When I came back he was sat there engrossed, content, safe and completely oblivious to any struggle we could be experiencing. Perfect peace

Photograph: Rah Petherbridge

PPE volunteer

Reminiscent of war time, Morley College was converted into a space for NHS volunteers to help design and sew PPE by converting theatre drapes into surgical gowns for hospital staff, including those at Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust

Photograph: Joe Newman

Outdoor space

A single parent household, with 3 children living in a second floor flat. We have spent many of our days on here appreciating this small confined outdoor space

Photograph: Val Azisi

Lockdown Wedding

We had to cancel our wedding because it was obvious it would have been impossible for it to have gone ahead. It didn’t feel right, though, to not enjoy the day when it came around. So we dressed up with our children and celebrated together. It was a fun and memorable day and it kept a positive spin on what could have been viewed as a depressing situation

Photograph: Donna Duke Llande

Long-awaited cuddle

Having been separated from her grandkids for three months I made my mum a ‘cuddle blanket’ so she could get that all-needed hug

Photograph: Lesley Garven

Laura

Laura was 39 weeks pregnant with her first child and had been home following lockdown rules for 6 weeks. Laura had been really missing seeing her close family and friends in person, and had to cancel her baby shower. She now has a healthy 3-month-old, but early motherhood has also been shadowed by the pandemic. Photographing people via Zoom is a collaborative process. Laura showed me around her house before I settled on this composition. I asked her to prop up her phone while she sat on the bed. Bonnie the dog jumped into the frame just at the right moment to help make the picture

Photograph: Fran Monks

Lockdown Life - Paul & Simon

I adore the architecture of Arlington House in Margate, and for me it really symbolised the solitude and stillness of lockdown in Thanet, East Kent. This image was a logistically interesting one to create, taken from over 200m away, texting Paul and Simon to come to the window of their fifteenth floor home. I often think about how we gaze upon a photo and the narrative it sparks in our minds. Most of all here, I think about what the perspective must have been like for Paul and Simon, looking out across an empty beach and quiet roads in Margate

Photograph: Rebecca Douglas

In school still here

This is a series of images by students from Maiden Erlegh School. These students have come to school every day during lockdown. Life isolated at school is their new normal. We asked them how they felt about this life and asked them to ‘destroy’ their portraits to capture their mood. This is their collective response

Photograph: students from Maiden Erlegh School

Home-schooling going great

Trying to work and home-school when you have a 3-year-old and an 11-year-old is an exercise in tuning out the noise. One might say - ‘Let it go...’ Taken in our home, at the multitasking table

Photograph: Ania Wilk-Lawton

I Can’t Breathe

My daughter and I have bonded and created previously when it comes to photography, but never before have we both used the medium of photography to talk about racial injustice or racism. For me, this was a new way to have that conversation with her

Photograph: Papajgun/Jamal Yussuff-Adelakun

Dadi’s love

This photograph, taken on 20 June 2020, captures love and connection during lockdown. It shows my sister-in-law with her grandmother (Dadi in Punjabi) meeting after months of being apart. In this moment I felt the depth of love they feel for each other, captured by both the joy and longing in their eyes. Separated by a window but connected by love.

Photograph: Simran Janjua

Amanda and her son Terrence

During lockdown it was pretty much me and my son, as my partner worked days and days on end. We live in a communal flat block on the very top floor. The front door is almost locking us away from the world, when we went out we felt almost free. Free from being ‘locked’ in and free from lots of schoolwork! I’ve felt more anxious than I ever have before. My stress levels rocketed. Home schooling was difficult, but our bond became really strong as we were in this together.

Photograph: Zak Waters

‘Keep smiling through. Just like you always do. ‘Til the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away’

This is my darling Nan, my ray of shining light. She raised me to be strong and kind. I took this portrait when I wasn’t allowed in the house. Her smile was still as bright even though I hadn’t been able to cuddle her for months

Photograph: Jessica Sommerville

Akuac

This is Akuac. I met her at Black Lives Matter protest at the US Embassy in London and asked to take her picture, so she took off her mask and stood for me. We’ve been friends since and I hope we will be for many years to come. Her strength and spirit is beautiful and unique. For me, the image reminds us that all of ours are. Every single one. George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. The countless others that we know of and that we don’t. I hope that the new normal after Covid-19 is kindness, equality, compassion, love

Photograph: Anastasia Orlando

Annemarie Plas, Founder of Clap for our Carers, at the last clap

Annemarie Plas is both the founder of Clap for our Carers and a Dutch yoga teacher living in South London. Inspired by a similar initiative in her homeland, she instigated the weekly clap on a Thursday night at 8pm. Annemarie had mixed feelings about ending the clap, but wanted it to go out on a high note before becoming politicised further. She told me her favourite part about the initiative was personally getting to know her neighbours, like many of us across the country

Photograph: Amanda Summons

I-Spy

We could hear our grandson playing on the patio when I shouted up saying that we (both grandparents) were passing. He ran over to a gap in the patio glass to have a look to see if he could spot us. We laughed when we could see that he had muddy hands as he had been playing in the soil, which had just been put down for some newly planted bushes. I joked with my wife saying that he looked like a convict trying to es- cape from prison!

Photograph: Rory Trappe

Justin, from the outside in

Justin didn’t know about my project when I turned up at his window with a camera. I was across the road, capturing his daughter and her family, who asked if I could pop over to capture her father. We spoke about this project, his art collection and how he manages to keep his plants so well, how surreal everything is, how the weeks have been for him isolating alone, and his plans to jet off to France as soon as this madness is over. He finished up by telling me he had a spot of hay fever... A session that wasn’t meant to happen, happens to be one of my favourites

Photograph: Sara Lincoln

Sami

I met Sami on his first day of volunteering at the Children With Voices Community Food Hub in Hackney, London. Originally from Sudan and raised in Brazil, Sami came to the UK for his PhD, and had just moved into an apartment overlooking the food hub. He saw what was happening, and came to lend a hand. I was immediately drawn to his beaming smile and positive vibe. I love the way his apron flutters in the wind, cape-like, as if revealing for a moment the superhero within. It’s everyday acts of kindness and solidarity like Sami’s that have brought communities together through this crisis

Photograph: Grey Hutton

The first kiss

This is the moment that our third baby boy came into the world, in the middle of a pandemic, surrounded by medical staff in full PPE, and the first thing he did was try to give his mummy a kiss through the protective screening and mummy’s mask. This moment was captured by daddy, Leigh, and it was love at first sight for all of us. Despite everything going on in the world, children and babies in particular have a way of keeping us grounded and focused and we are so proud to have brought a new life into the world during the height of this pandemic

Photograph: Ali Harris and Leigh Harris

We always wear a smile

We always want our residents at our dementia nursing home to know we are smiling under our masks. Jill our activities coordinator took this picture as we wanted to show not only our smiling eyes but our friendly faces too. Beth and Sade are in the photo and are fantastic carers, and we are all so proud of how we have all adapted to make the whole of our smiles visible through the masks. We have had to learn new ways to communicate with our residents during the pandemic as the mask is so restrictive and that comforting smile has been hidden

Photograph: Jill Bowler and Trevor Edwards

Thank you

Our little girl, Amelia, has Down’s Syndrome and raises a lot of positive awareness on social media under Amelia May Changing Attitudes. On the 12 May 2020 I made Amelia a very simple nurses outfit and then took the picture in our kitchen to celebrate International Nurses Day. Amelia’s aunty and cousin are both amazing nurses and Amelia has seen a lot of nurses in her short life. A couple of Amelia’s followers on her Facebook page suggested that we submit the photo to the Hold Still 2020 project. This is amazing for us and the Down’s Syndrome Community

Photograph: Wendy Huson

Eid-Ul-Fitr 2020

Every year, following the holy month of Ramadan, we are used to celebrating Eid-Ul-Fitr, starting the day with congregated prayers at the Mosque, enjoying a special Eid breakfast as a family and wearing our best clothes. We then spend rest of the day visiting the houses of our loved ones, sampling each other’s food and taking selfies! However, this Eid was very different, respecting lockdown restrictions meant that there were no prayers at the Mosque, no Eid hugs, and no time spent with our extended family and friends

Photograph: Roshni Haque

Cancelled

To be told that your A-level exams have been cancelled may seem like a dream come true. However in reality it’s far from the truth. The class of 2020 have experienced disappointment at so many levels. Exams cancelled. Graduations and proms cancelled, not knowing how their university life will look. During lockdown I feel that there was not enough said about the disappointments that many of these students have had to face due to the Coronavirus. They are the Silent Heroes. They will be the ones facing the ‘New Normal’ as they step into their chosen paths after leaving school

Photograph: Niaz Maleknia

Joe and Duke Brooks a week before their 18th birthday

Joe and Duke are identical twins and the sons of one of my dearest friends – I’ve known them since they were very young. I’m incredibly proud to call them my friends too. Those visits, at first through a window, and now masked and cautious sitting on their balcony, have been a godsend during this isolated period. Here I could feel the frustration of two young men who suddenly found themselves entirely housebound and trapped just as their lives were about to open up in the most exciting of ways with their 18th birthdays and first adult summer

Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian