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AP PHOTOS: Photographers reflect on single shot of pandemic

Father Vasily Gelevan, a Russian Orthodox priest, blesses Lyudmila Polyak, 86, who is believed to be suffering from COVID-19, at her apartment in Moscow, June 1, 2020. Associated Press photographer Alexander Zemlianichenko says this of the image: "I feel it's both very intimate and also deeply symbolic, an image of empathy and self-denial in the face of mortal danger." He says taking the photo was "also very important for me on a personal level, an experience that transformed me, helping overcome my own fear" of the virus. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Father Vasily Gelevan, a Russian Orthodox priest, blesses Lyudmila Polyak, 86, who is believed to be suffering from COVID-19, at her apartment in Moscow, June 1, 2020. Associated Press photographer Alexander Zemlianichenko says this of the image: "I feel it's both very intimate and also deeply symbolic, an image of empathy and self-denial in the face of mortal danger." He says taking the photo was "also very important for me on a personal level, an experience that transformed me, helping overcome my own fear" of the virus. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

By NICOLE WINFIELD / Associated Press 3 min read

ROME (AP) – The images show the intimacy of husbands and wives saying goodbye for the last time, or reuniting after months apart. They honor the courage of nurses, funeral workers and clerics who risked their own health to do their jobs. They witness life slipping away, and being snatched back from death.

To mark the milestone of 3 million COVID-19 deaths worldwide, The Associated Press asked 15 photographers in 13 countries to pick the single image they shot that affected them the most, and explain why.

Their selections document the staggering human toll as COVID-19 robbed millions of their lives, and millions more of their basic freedoms and day-to-day routines over the past year. But their reflections tell a deeper story, guiding the viewer to see and understand a once-in-a-century pandemic through the eyes of people who had the privilege and horror of witnessing it up close.

Just like their subjects, the AP photographers were terrified they might get infected and bring the virus home. Just like their subjects, they remain haunted by what they saw. Just like their subjects, they found moments of hope.

Alexander Zemlianichenko still stays in touch with the Russian Orthodox priest who made house calls to bless the sick and dying in Moscow, saying accompanying him was “an experience that transformed me, helping overcome my own fear” of the virus.