How photographer captured baby image amid coronavirus lockdown

Neonatal Nurse Kirsty Hartley carries newborn Theo Anderson, who was born prematurely, to his mother Kirsty Anderson, in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Lancashire Women and Newborn Centre at Burnley General Hospital, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Burnley, East Lancashire, Britain, May 15, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Pool/File photo

For Reuters photographer Hannah McKay, a recent trip to take pictures at a hospital in northern England required the kind of planning more typical of a foreign assignment.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought huge changes to the way journalists work the world over, with safety a priority, access organised long in advance, travel kept to a minimum and hotels and public transport largely out of bounds.

So when London-based McKay had the opportunity to travel north to cover medical workers in the cities of Blackburn and Burnley, careful planning was essential.

Reuters Photographer Hannah McKay, takes a picture of herself wearing PPE (personal protective equipment) before entering the laundry and linen room at The Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Blackburn, East Lancashire, Britain, May 14, 2020. McKay had the opportunity to travel north to cover medical workers in the cities of Blackburn and Burnley. Much of the time was spent changing in and out of protective clothing, under the close surveillance of hospital staff. "I must have put on 20 masks throughout the day," she said. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

She divided the six-hour journey into two parts, sleeping in a tent in her parents' garden in Coventry before setting off the next morning. McKay and her parents found the experience strange.

"I couldn't go in the front door, I couldn't go in the house and we couldn't hug," she recalled.

Her mother cooked a curry for dinner and her parents sat on a bench in the garden while they ate, respecting social distancing rules.

Reuters Photographer Hannah McKay photographs workers in the linen and laundry room at The Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Blackburn, East Lancashire, Britain May 14, 2020. McKay had the opportunity to travel north to cover medical workers in the cities of Blackburn and Burnley. Much of the time was spent changing in and out of protective clothing, under the close surveillance of hospital staff. "I must have put on 20 masks throughout the day," she said. REUTERS/Emma Cooke SEARCH "COVID-19 BIRTH UK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT

After photographing medics on the frontline at the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital, she was offered the use of one of dozens of motorhomes in the hospital car park where doctors and nurses have been staying to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus.

That allowed McKay, 32, to carry on working the next day, this time in a maternity ward at Burnley General Hospital.

It was there that she took a photograph of a nurse passing a newborn baby to its mother that featured prominently in British newspapers and on online news sites.

A map on Reuters photographer Hannah McKay's phone, shows directions to her home in London as she drives back from the Lancashire Women and Newborn Centre, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Burnley, East Lancashire, Britain, May 15, 2020. McKay had the opportunity to travel north to cover medical workers in the cities of Blackburn and Burnley. REUTERS/Hannah McKay SEARCH "COVID-19 BIRTH UK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

"To get a picture I was pleased with was great," McKay said. "I never expected it would get the kind of reaction it did."

'MY OLYMPICS'

Reuters photographer Hannah McKay edits images on her laptop, as she lies on a bed in a motorhome she stays in overnight, in the carpark at The Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Blackburn, East Lancashire, Britain, May 14, 2020. After photographing medics on the frontline at the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital, McKay was offered the use of one of dozens of motorhomes in the hospital car park where doctors and nurses have been staying to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus. REUTERS/Hannah McKay SEARCH "COVID-19 BIRTH UK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Before the pandemic struck, McKay had a packed summer of work ahead of her, including coverage of the Euros soccer tournament, the Wimbledon tennis championship and the Tokyo Olympics.

With all of those events off, she has been working full time in London.

"This job felt like it was my Olympics; it was the first time I had left London for ages," she said of her trip last week. "I was so happy to be doing something normal but different."

Reuters Photographer Hannah McKay's laptop and some snacks, are left on the bedside table of a motorhome she stays in overnight in the car park of The Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Blackburn, East Lancashire, Britain, May 14, 2020. After photographing medics on the frontline at the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital, McKay was offered the use of one of dozens of motorhomes in the hospital car park where doctors and nurses have been staying to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus. REUTERS/Hannah McKay SEARCH "COVID-19 BIRTH UK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

In Blackburn, McKay spent the day visiting as many hospital departments as possible, taking about 3,000 photographs in all.

Much of the time was spent changing in and out of protective clothing, under the close surveillance of hospital staff.

"I must have put on 20 masks throughout the day," she said.

Reuters photographer Hannah McKay stops outside a field during a car journey from Coventry to Blackburn, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Coventry, Britain, May 14, 2020. McKay had the opportunity to travel north to cover medical workers in the cities of Blackburn and Burnley. REUTERS/Hannah McKay SEARCH "COVID-19 BIRTH UK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

The following day, in the nearby city of Burnley, she met a mother whose baby Theo, who was born prematurely, was in an incubator.

Her picture captured the moment when the tiny infant, in the hands of a nurse, stretched out its limbs while the mother prepared to take him.

The mother found McKay on Instagram and said the photograph meant that friends and family, who were unable to visit her in hospital because of the coronavirus, could now see how small Theo was.

Motorhomes, where some doctors and nurses have been staying in to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), stand in a carpark during sunset, outside The Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital in Blackburn, East Lancashire, Britain, May 14, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay SEARCH "COVID-19 BIRTH UK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

"I'm going to send a copy to her for Theo's memory box," McKay said.

(Reporting and writing by Mike Collett-White)

The sun rises over an alleyway behind a row of residential houses in Coventry, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Coventry, Britain, May 14, 2020. Hannah McKay had the opportunity to travel north to cover medical workers in the cities of Blackburn and Burnley and divided the six-hour journey into two parts, sleeping in a tent in her parents' garden in Coventry before setting off the next morning. REUTERS/Hannah McKay SEARCH "COVID-19 BIRTH UK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Reuters photographer Hannah McKay prepares to brush her teeth in an alleyway, after she spent the night sleeping in a tent in the back garden of her parent's home, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Coventry, Britain, May 14, 2020. Hannah McKay had the opportunity to travel north to cover medical workers in the cities of Blackburn and Burnley and divided the six-hour journey into two parts, sleeping in a tent in her parents' garden in Coventry before setting off the next morning. "I couldn't go in the front door, I couldn't go in the house and we couldn't hug," she recalled. REUTERS/Hannah McKay SEARCH "COVID-19 BIRTH UK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Jim McKay, a father of Reuters photographer Hannah McKay, carries a hot water bottle to the tent where his daughter sleeps overnight, in the back garden of their family home, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Coventry, Britain, May 13, 2020. Hannah McKay had the opportunity to travel north to cover medical workers in the cities of Blackburn and Burnley and divided the six-hour journey into two parts, sleeping in a tent in her parents' garden in Coventry before setting off the next morning. "I couldn't go in the front door, I couldn't go in the house and we couldn't hug," she recalled. REUTERS/Hannah McKay SEARCH "COVID-19 BIRTH UK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Chris McKay, a mother of Reuters photographer Hannah McKay, blows a kiss goodnight to her daughter who sleeps in a tent in the back garden of the family home, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Coventry, Britain, May 13, 2020. Hannah McKay had the opportunity to travel north to cover medical workers in the cities of Blackburn and Burnley and divided the six-hour journey into two parts, sleeping in a tent in her parents' garden in Coventry before setting off the next morning. "I couldn't go in the front door, I couldn't go in the house and we couldn't hug," she recalled. REUTERS/Hannah McKay SEARCH "COVID-19 BIRTH UK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Reuters photographer Hannah McKay sends a message from her mobile while staying in a tent overnight, in the back garden of her parent's home, during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, in Coventry, Britain, May 13, 2020. Hannah McKay had the opportunity to travel north to cover medical workers in the cities of Blackburn and Burnley and divided the six-hour journey into two parts, sleeping in a tent in her parents' garden in Coventry before setting off the next morning. "I couldn't go in the front door, I couldn't go in the house and we couldn't hug," she recalled. REUTERS/Hannah McKay SEARCH "COVID-19 BIRTH UK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Chris McKay, a mother of Reuters photographer Hannah McKay, uses protective gloves to wash a dinner plate that was used by her daughter, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at her home in Coventry, Britain, May 13, 2020. Hannah McKay had the opportunity to travel north to cover medical workers in the cities of Blackburn and Burnley and divided the six-hour journey into two parts, sleeping in a tent in her parents' garden in Coventry before setting off the next morning. "I couldn't go in the front door, I couldn't go in the house and we couldn't hug," she recalled. REUTERS/Hannah McKay SEARCH "COVID-19 BIRTH UK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Chris and Jim McKay, the parents of Reuters photographer Hannah McKay, eat an evening meal together while social distancing away from their daughter, in the back garden of their home, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Coventry, Britain, May 13, 2020. Hannah McKay had the opportunity to travel north to cover medical workers in the cities of Blackburn and Burnley and divided the six-hour journey into two parts, sleeping in a tent in her parents' garden in Coventry before setting off the next morning. "I couldn't go in the front door, I couldn't go in the house and we couldn't hug," she recalled. REUTERS/Hannah McKay SEARCH "COVID-19 BIRTH UK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Chris McKay, a mother of Reuters photographer Hannah McKay, carries a plate of dinner for her daughter out of the kitchen into the back garden of her home, where her daughter stays in a tent overnight, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Coventry, Britain May 13, 2020. Hannah McKay had the opportunity to travel north to cover medical workers in the cities of Blackburn and Burnley and divided the six-hour journey into two parts, sleeping in a tent in her parents' garden in Coventry before setting off the next morning. "I couldn't go in the front door, I couldn't go in the house and we couldn't hug," she recalled. REUTERS/Hannah McKay SEARCH "COVID-19 BIRTH UK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Reuters photographer Hannah McKay displays a plate of chicken curry for a photograph, as she eats dinner in the back garden of her parent's home, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Coventry, Britain, May 13, 2020. Hannah McKay had the opportunity to travel north to cover medical workers in the cities of Blackburn and Burnley and divided the six-hour journey into two parts, sleeping in a tent in her parents' garden in Coventry before setting off the next morning. REUTERS/Hannah McKay SEARCH "COVID-19 BIRTH UK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Jim McKay, a father of Reuters photographer Hannah McKay, greets his daughter from a social distance, as he stands on the doorstep to the family home, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Coventry, Britain, May 13, 2020. Hannah McKay had the opportunity to travel north to cover medical workers in the cities of Blackburn and Burnley and divided the six-hour journey into two parts, sleeping in a tent in her parents' garden in Coventry before setting off the next morning. "I couldn't go in the front door, I couldn't go in the house and we couldn't hug," she recalled. REUTERS/Hannah McKay SEARCH "COVID-19 BIRTH UK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.