Winner: Ashley Schahfer (@schahferz)
Photographer: Matt Jones
Location: Alvord Desert, Oregon
Ashley Schahfer — an inclusion and accessibility consultant at EmpoweringAccess.com — lives in the outdoor mecca of Bend, Oregon, but nearby trail heads and other wilderness access points were closed for much of the spring and early summer due to the coronavirus pandemic. Fortunately, she knew a perfect and still-open escape, the remote Alvord Desert in southeastern Oregon. “It’s an awesome spot because it’s completely flat,” she says. “The vast openness is really beautiful.” She and friend Matt Jones arrived late at night and slept on camping mats in the back of the car. Dust storms kept them in the car for most of the morning, but then the winds quieted down and they popped open the hatch to a scene out of their social distancing dreams.
Honorable Mention: Luticha André Doucette (@ freedomofmovement35)
Photographer: Don Schlaich
Mural Artist: Sarah C. Rutherford
Location: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park,
Rochester, New York
Luticha André Doucette works as the equity coordinator for the City of Rochester, New York, but, like most Americans, had been cooped up at home all spring. The upstate weather had been crummy for most of quarantine, so when a decent day finally came, Doucette and boyfriend Don Schlaich headed out to nearby MLK Park. “It’s a special place to go and meditate and just be out,” Doucette says. “Every protest either ends there or starts there. … The spot has a pretty meaningful connection to the community.” Schlaich snapped this shot while Doucette soaked up the sun under a mural of Danielle Ponder, a friend and local musician.
Submitted by @daniizzie: I have tuned out the world in recent months in order to reduce stress and anxiety during my #twinpregnancy. I see a #heart in this photo, do you? There is so much love in humanity, so much to protect and nurture, and I’m not just talking about babies …
Submitted by @jade_mf78: Stay home 2020! With my home of 14 years, a wheelchair-accessible 1975 Airstream Sovereign, relocated pre-COVID from Los Angeles to Helper, Utah. Photo by @jasonhuntzinger
Submitted by @c_severson95: Escaping to the mountains is a great place for therapy and healing. Doing it in a sweet chair is just an added bonus!
Submitted by @impact.overland: It won’t be long now, I can feel it. The end of one adventure and the beginning of another. The turning of a page, start of a new chapter …
Submitted by @pushylawyer: To the people who say you can’t do it all … I say, what ya got next for me? Thanks to COVID, I get to show every day that I can be a mom, a wife, a lawyer, a business owner, an entrepreneur, an advocate, a dishwasher, a cook, a teacher, a hair stylist, a cleaner, a landscaper, a gardener, a boxer, a yogi, a handywoman … all at the same time … all from home … (often with a kid sitting on me) … AND ALL ON WHEELS. If this year hasn’t stopped me — nothing will!
Submitted by @impact.overland: It felt great yesterday when I was crossing the street and this boxer was so excited to say hi that he couldn’t handle himself. Touch is important, dogs are important, and wearing a mask so we can beat this virus is important!
** This post was originally published on https://www.newmobility.com/2020/09/new-mobility-photo-contest-finalists/