erin michelle burk

Kristina Woldan holds her daughter, Zoë, up to a window at the Los Angeles Zoo on June 10, 2021. Kristina has been caring for her adopted daughters Zoë, who has cystic fibrosis, and Okalani, who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, since she became their foster mother. Due to their lung conditions, they are categorized as high-risk. Kristina worries that they would be hit hard by COVID-19 were they to catch it, and so has done her best to keep them safe and well-cared for through the hard times posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Edwin Grenland cradles his new puppy, Dior, while Manny Perez and famous TikToker Leo Gonzalez discuss the location of a stall in front of Vanessa Mendoza, who is filming them on her phone on May 28, 2021. Every night in Lincoln Heights, the Avenue 26 street market sets up shop and provides LA with top-notch street food, a commodity that has been sorely missed since the beginning of the pandemic. Its sudden and explosive growth in popularity can be attributed to TikTokers like Gonzalez making short videos about it and giving it more exposure.

Bok Molter, in the black shirt, Adrian Spencer, in the white shirt, and Liam Waskiewicz use a piece of fishing line with a hook that they found on the side of the road to fish off of the docks of Fishtown in Leland, Michigan on June 26, 2020. Spencer said that in the past, they could sit out on the docks and hang their legs off the side without touching the water. Multiple buildings in Fishtown have had to be lifted to avoid being submerged in the lake waters.

Birash Joash looks away while Aidrielyann, Jacintha, and Michael Joash watch the ambulance take Lorene to the hospital from their home on October 20, 2021. Lorene has had ongoing health issues since the early 2010's. It began with asthma, which she received treatments for, but progressed to the point where she passed out and slipped into a coma during a routine visit with her family in Arkansas. She was comatose for eight months. Then, they found a tumor in her lung. Many Marshallese community members attribute their experiences with cancer to the Cold War-era testing in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Of her experience at the hospitals before Medicare was reinstated, Lorene said that, "they treat me, but not real good because I don't have any insurance." Lorene's daughter, Primrose, believes that the long period of time without Medicare has negatively impacted the health of many in the Marshallese community. "Some of them didn't even go to the hospital because they [were] like, "what [are] they gonna do, just put a Band-Aid on me ... and say 'go home'?"

Susan Aguon massages Vicky Dungca's head while Vicky cries at the second day of her mother, Gloria Aguerro's, post-funeral rosary on June 7, 2022 in Yona, Guam. Aguon is a traditional healer, or yo'amte, from the island of Guam in the western Pacific Ocean. She worked to heal Aguerro while she was alive, and after her passing Vicky spent much of her visit home with Susan, who she feels is like a second mother to her.

Marina Sorace-Ferreyro and Ken Ferreyro share a kiss as they prepare to leave the DMV on June 29, 2021. Following complications from his post-traumatic stress disorder in 2016, Ken was arrested for tax evasion, causing their family to have to split up. Their sons went to their mother's house, and Marina and Ken's daughter went to stay with Marina's parents in Argentina as Marina couldn't support the two of them on her own. After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Ken's halfway house put stricter visiting rules into place in order to decrease exposure for their residents. Marina now sees him very rarely, and often only when he needs a ride for appointments.

My sister, Emily, poses for a portrait in the window of our front door on March 31, 2020.

Laura Bilson poses for a portrait in the studio on February 27, 2021.

Tanner Filyaw holds ginseng roots while on a walk with his family in their land's forest in Rutland, Ohio on September 23, 2021.

Cai and Max Scheidler pose for a portrait in Solvang, California, on June 22, 2021.

A lit pathway runs by Tanguisson Beach in Dededo, Guam on August 17, 2022.