Texas Tribune photojournalists on the front line: photography in a year of pandemic and unrest

As millions of Texans adapted to COVID-19 by working from home this year — including much of our staff — The Texas Tribune's photojournalists went out to document a world upended by the pandemic.

And this summer, the nation reached a tipping point on the issues of racial injustice and police brutality. Protests and demonstrations erupted across the country. Cities and towns in Texas and beyond saw thousands turn out into the streets.

Our photojournalists were there. Emotions were high, and the situations encountered by demonstrators and police — and reporters and photographers —were volatile and sometimes dangerous. And by then, COVID-19 was spreading rapidly across the country.

What was it like to be at the forefront of these two massive stories? For our annual Texas Tribune Festival, Miguel Gutierrez Jr., head of the Tribune’s photo department, sat down (remotely) with four photographers to discuss their work in this tumultuous year: Eddie Gaspar, a nightside photo editor at the Tribune; freelancer Shelby Tauber, who is based in North Texas; Pu Ying Huang, a freelancer in Houston; and Jordan Vonderhaar, a Central Texas photographer.

Festival ticket holders can watch the discussion on demand starting at 8 a.m. Sunday through Sept. 30, the end of the Festival. For our readers not attending the Festival, here’s a look at some of the work from these photojournalists who helped us tell the stories of 2020, a year like no other.

First: Protesters marched through downtown Houston, demanding accountability and justice for Black lives lost to police violence. Next: A hearse containing George Floyd's body drove up a flag-lined street as it approached the Fountain of Praise Church in Houston in June. Last: Protesters gathered at a Houston rally in memory of Floyd. The former Houston resident was killed in Minneapolis police custody. Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune

First: Declan True listens to his kindergarten teacher on the first day of in-person classes at Highland Village Elementary. Last: A health care worker spoke to a patient at a drive-thru testing site in Garland in June. Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune

First: Austin police officers on horseback approached demonstrators who gathered in May to protest the killings of George Floyd and Mike Ramos. Last: Nurses Amber Phillips, left, and Kristen Howell administered COVID-19 tests in March at the Austin Regional Clinic drive-thru testing center in Kyle. Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune