One, very important job
The title and subtitle of today’s post refer to work of our Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry. I will write about her work from my perspective, but be assured we all know what an important job she has right now, as the province struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic.
I have photographed Dr. Henry many times in my job with the Province of B.C. Making those images has been part of what I do, along with covering other government events, working on ad campaigns and occasionally travelling around the province with the Premier. In other words, I cross paths with Dr. Henry every few months. Something we acknowledged with a nod, a wave or a brief “hello.”
That as all changed with the arrival of COVID-19. I now see Dr. Henry multiple times a week, as I cover her updates for the media. There is nothing else for me to focus on, as our communications team works to echo her messages and keep citizens informed and reassured. The team is doing an incredible job and I attempt to help where I can, but photography has definitely taken a back seat to more important jobs.
As the pandemic threatens the province, the country and the world, the work of Dr. Henry, and her counterparts across Canada, is at the forefront of news headlines and she has become known to most British Columbians, as well as a global audience. They watch her calm, measure approach to informing us, reassuring everyone, as well as making difficult, but necessary decisions that are aimed at helping keep people safe and reducing the strain on our health care system. We are impressed. The world is impressed.
As an immigrant to Canada, I am thankful for our health care system and to professionals like Dr. Bonnie Henry, whom we can rely upon for thoughtful, honest responses and who exhibit integrity every day, in the face of a mounting crisis.
I so appreciate her total focus, as she tackles this one, important job.
NB: Not that it seems remotely relevant, but all images of Dr. Henry were captured with Fujifilm X- or GFX-cameras, fronted with Fujinon lenses.
DON CRAIG photography 
4 responses to “Total focus”
[…] work has shifted, as mentioned in my previous post, to a few tasks. And photography is only a partial focus for what I’m being asked to do. […]
Don, thank you for acknowledging Dr. Henry’s great work.
Fiona, you are welcome. It has been a pleasure to work around her. Something, everyone I know echos.
Thank you for providing a sane, articulate and informative way to keep abreast of the current COVID-19 situation (video available on YouTube). While Dr. Henry is not speaking specifically about the country where I live, her information is certainly pertinent and better than anything I have seen from our government.