In the early days of California’s stay-at-home order, while people all across the state worked to adjust, Strategic Communications principal photographer Karin Higgins had an idea: Maybe she could carve out a chunk of time to do a portrait series of Aggies in their new normal.

The result is a photo essay called “Pandemic Portraits,” and it captures how the faculty, staff, alumni and students are spending this time. It also highlights the silver lining each photo subject has found in this historic moment.

While the photos are beautiful on their own, the website they are displayed on was built from scratch to showcase Higgins’ work. Craig Farris, web manager in Strategic Communications, along with others in the department, created a design that gracefully leads the viewer through the photo series.

Higgins expressed gratitude to her photo subjects who openly “shared their lives with me.”

She added, “I have found that this pandemic has created moments of connection that might not have existed before.”