![Personal protective equipment that Jordan Vonderhaar has used while covering protests and the COVID-19 pandemic. -](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/puzR2YxSCu-BjPugbf4JN2uL8Io=/850x478/smart/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2644fb76c83dd6f8e178b20682e87886/TTF%20Field%20Safety%20Equipment%20JV%20TT%2012.jpg)
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.
![Shelves in the toilet paper aisle of the Hancock HEB are completely empty as Austinites rushed to stock up on essentials during the COVID19 outbreak in March.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/0AB3jVVY_j7hRDk0LZrhdbxnDSY=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/51fcb2aa75968be5384f42d2a8a5de4b/TTF%20Photo%20Panel%20JV%20TT%201.jpg)
![Armed Protestors guard the memorial to Garrett Foster, who was shot and killed during a protest against police brutality in Austin in July.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/lA7BZSq3k27XhYS3pD8bKm3v1v8=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ccdf96c43de67d3aea2b51bfb6326fa7/TTF%20Photo%20Panel%20JV%20TT%2015.jpg)
![A police officer sprays a protester with pepper spray as protestors clashed with police in riot gear in downtown Austin on Aug. 1, 2020.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/TAOCmOfifOrh8NR3KBMp3Q1KA7Y=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/514b9f8f0a65a5d3709c5b9ef2915897/TTF%20Photo%20Panel%20JV%20TT%2013.jpg)
![Personal protective equipment that photojournalist Miguel Gutierrez Jr. has used to cover protests, COVID-19 pandemic and various other stories for the Texas Tribune.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/z8h7Qxh3ZzVwggs5FKWtjngKeEE=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4e1c2cbf01efdefe1de4f7e4c89e709d/TTF%20Field%20Safety%20Equipment%20MG%20TT%2001.jpg)
![Juan Lopez removes a dead body from a home in McAllen. July 17, 2020.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/ft1WhKVPNDN3wcoMxNk824Zr1kI=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d71c50c41239707a6af8720148b19d66/Juan%20Lopez%20RGV%20COVID%20MG%20TT%2023.jpg)
![Protesters march east on Seventh Street in downtown Austin. The group marched in protest over the death of George Floyd during an arrest by the Minneapolis police department.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/wBhnqepU7rFJu96sKqm5Lmt6fYk=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c2a78f0920fa666bad0b576b3b2b1b3b/ATX%20George%20Floyd%20Protest%20June%2006%20MG%20TT%2015.jpg)
![The Mount Calvary Baptist Churchís steeple lays entangled with tree debris on the ground after Hurricane Laura blew through Orange on Aug. 27, 2020.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/glf4PVqDvGXbR4InANqbwvheYHs=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ee15c08b2cf9016fcae77701a16d1761/Orange%20Hurricane%20Laura%20PYH%20TT%2020.jpg)
![Protesters march through downtown Houston demanding accountability and justice for Black lives lost to police violence.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/-WG2SmDlo_uYnjF-QTLGn73rxVY=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3c0c6c1bd0231009239177bc5599e643/TTF%20Photo%20Panel%20PYH%20TT.jpg)
![A hearse containing the body of George Floyd drives up a flag-lined street as it approaches the Fountain of Praise Church in Houston on June 8, 2020.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/yy-PQ4pWoH1ZZlMSnyLg_-YWFDc=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1d8e8c8543b2a13e762d3d15548260e2/Floyd%20Memorial%20Service%20AM%20TT%2001.jpg)
![Protesters gathered at a rally for George Floyd in Houston in 2020. Floyd, a former Houston resident, was killed in Minneapolis during an arrest by police.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/IOdF9KrO0E5D-LnCdEU1jlhjHMs=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/482e0044db51a552fa740f7dee4f0cbc/Floyd%20Rally%20Houston%20PYH%20TT%200246.jpg)
![Protesters run away as Dallas police officers launch tear gas after a confrontation during a rally for George Floyd on May 29, 2020.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/Oap-f-u-bhVZ2e0j6-KFQ37R7eU=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e371e9db849725facabfcddca6b7d959/Dallas%20George%20Floyd%20Protests%20ST%20TT%206585.jpg)
![Declan True listens to kindergarten teacher Mrs. Hogan on the first day of in-person classes at Highland Village Elementary on Sept. 8, 2020.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/ZQbtJePXcKa7vcc2OnxN6f94zzI=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f63f40d5fd89b6d13ffdf0b0f3c74228/COVID%20Highland%20Village%20Elem%20ST%20TT%2005.jpg)
![A health care worker speaks to a patient at a drive-thru testing site at Exceptional Medical Plaza in Garland on June 30, 2020.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/-XUWXVNY88D8QwNADKHl5ThT3Jc=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2619d3afd2cfb79a22be5f1f8688de60/North%20Texas%20COVID%20Testing%20SL%20TT%2018.jpg)
![Taylor Putnam comforts her friend Veronica Holmes at a vigil honoring those whose lives were lost to police shootings at Freedman's Memorial Cemetery on May 31.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/JvbTf6TKZFydlWv9aBKJRVo7P-0=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/bb7aaa316e96581585548961f1e29d80/TTF%20Photo%20Panel%20ST%20TT.jpg)
![Austin Police officers watch a crowd of protestors near their police headquarters in May.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/idbgNOco5pKvL9PYBcWtMZvqex0=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/53c650f7ac5c490c269c85405bde182e/TTF%20Photo%20Panel%20EG%20TT.jpg)
![Police officers on horseback approach a crowd gathered to protest the deaths of George Floyd and Mike Ramos, in Austin on May 30, 2020.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/LkLM-ahLdyFBot9tcYkORfkCBq4=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c24f6b1dff87f13b92be7542d5efba9d/George%20Floyd%20ATX%20EG%20TT%2008.jpg)
![Nurses Amber Phillips, left, and Kristen Howell administer COVID-19 tests at the Austin Regional Clinic drive-up testing center in Kyle on March 31, 2020.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/-fjWjv4MSl3ojDfpX5IPHqaQEcM=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4a24cf37fb87d32ae62d0ce201136a43/Drive%20Up%20Testing%20Site%20Kyle%20EG%20%20TT%2031.jpg)
![Austin residents take photos on Congress Avenue bridge in Austin on May 13, 2020.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/3Moi1o28uHqfAK-MrlkNK6rGeOI=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3b9ef1575416eedea39601cd741a1fc4/Austin%20Thunderbirds%20Flyover%20EG%20TT%2006.jpg)
Information about the authors
Learn about The Texas Tribune’s policies, including our partnership with The Trust Project to increase transparency in news.